General Care Discussion :: New with 5 turtles

[bimmerturtle]

Hi everyone

Well I have 4 red eared turtles and 1 red belly one. All in a 50 gallen tank.'

Is that bad?

The red belly one is the smallist and find him looking weak looking. He is about 1-1/2" big. Haven't seen him eat

The others are 2" big. 3 of the 4 are very active but one has pinkish swollen eyes and just stays basking.

What to do or get to help him. I also see him Gasping for air sometimes thro his mouth.

Thanks

[missibsu]

5 turts in a 50 gallon is stretching it a bit. Especially since some of them appear to be sick. The red swollen eyes could be from irritants in the water, or they could have eye infections. Eye infections are contagious, but can be treated rather easily. Depending on what is causing the redness and swelling, there are eye drops that can be used and there is cod liver oil that can be used. Wait until there is a determination on the cause before choosing a treatment.

The gasping for air sounds like the start of a respritory infection. Lathargy is another sign. RI is also quite contagious and can even cause death if left untreated.

Please be sure to check out the main site, www.redearslider.com and get some basic info. In my opinion, these turtles need to be separated and provided with their own set ups. It sounds like at least one of them should be seeing a vet as well, if not all of them.

Good Luck, and keep us updated!

[bimmerturtle]

K,I'll do that and let you know. Thanks for the responce. any other idias would ge great

Thanks guys and girls

Just a New be to this stuff.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Uh oh, you better get them to the vet, especially the one gasping for air. That is turtle pneumonia & spreads very quickly to the other turtles if you don't treat it. 18 yrs ago, 2 turtles I had died from it so don't delay. After you take him to the vet, you will most likely need to keep in a separate tank until he recovers. And make sure you do a good scrubbing of the 50 gallon tank too. Hopefully the other turtles haven't caught it yet. Keep an eye out.

50 gal is too small a tank for 5 turtles.

[SpotsMama]

The RESs may be bullying the little red belly and getting all the food. If the smaller ones are fed separately they'll have a better chance of getting their fair share.

[Kallistos]

5 turtles are going to turn into a huge, expensive commitent extremely fast...especially if they're females, just a warning.

[bimmerturtle]

thnaks for your comments I will take some advice here and get some things done

[bimmerturtle]

the red belly one is about the size of a quarter (maybe a little bigger) dosn't eat and looks weak. How do you get something to eat that small.

[cprcheetah]

Turtles generally do best in their own setups. 5 in 50 gallons seems a bit much. A general rule of thumb is 10 gallons per inch of shell. For example, my Zeke is 7" so should have at least 70 gallon tank. As for the one that's gasping, I would get it to a vet ASAP, sounds like a Respiratory infection, even when treated sometimes they can die, but the sooner you get it on antibiotics the better.

Just to add, many people will keep them in large rubbermaid containers along with the proper filters, lighting etc, which is a cheaper alternative until you can get them each their own large tank.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

try enticeing him with some tuna soaked pellets,are you taking them to the vet?