General Care Discussion :: General questions about turtle's health

[Kai.]

ok here's the situation. I just talked to my dad (again) and here's basically what he said to me ( may be a few translation problems since he said this to me in chinese)

"I'm not going take him to a doctor. If he dies, then let him die. Don't be so crazy, I didn't buy you a turtle so that you could obsess over it."

Before we even bought the tank for the turtle, I told my parents that turtles weren't "easy"pets to have and that it would take as much attention and effort as any other pet. They still bought it for me, therefore it should have meant that they accepted this responsibility along with me.

Now they're so [----] retarded.... my dad's calling me crazy cause i actualyl care about the well being of the turtle and because i want to get him chedked. He's emptying the tank oput right now and he's threatening to throw the turtles out....

[lotsofpets]

If that is the case, then I would consider taking them back to the petstore you got them from since it only has been two days. Hopefully you can get your money back or get store credit. I hate to tell you this, since you obviously really care for your turtles, but if your parents won't let you take care of them properly, then this or maybe what xsavingsaturdayx said would be the best option. (parents can really be a pain sometimes - fortunately I am 27 now and can do what I want to do whenever I want to do it!)

[Kai.]

If it meant giving the turtles a better owner, i owuld have no problem with this, but i got them from a chinese pet store (which was actually ver clean and proper) so i doubt they would take good care of them / give us store credit / moneyback. They'd probably just sell it to the next person who has no idea what turtles need.

May I spam now? so my dad just takes the whole tank, dumps it all in the bathtub, and decides to change the water. He poors it all out, and replaces it with hot tap water because he says that it smells like a fish store... I told him that a filter would have helped, and that taking him to a vet would only benefit him, and he told me I was crazy and obsessed, and that caring so much for a turtle is dumb. So right now, I have no idea what is hapenning, but i'm trying to keep my temper down so that I can atleast help take care of the turtles with the stuff I have now

[da sAUCE!]

yeah man, no more turtles after these, k?

[SpotsMama]

Kai, I'm really sorry you're having such a difficult time. Wish I could help.

[Pizza]

I can imagine your situation, before I recently gained my four turtles, I owned another large adult turtle several years ago when I was a young kid. It was very active and healthy, and it lived happily in my family for many years (4-6 years, and possibly another 3-4 years from a family friend which gave it to us).

Then one day it suddenly just slept and rarely moved during the day. A few days later I saw it had an eye infected and I ecouraged my parents to take it to a vet, but they were too cheap to pay 50 dollars, so instead they just hoped that it would get better. I nagged them and pleaded with them, but with no avail. Two weeks passed, and it died. Sad, but my parents were very cheap (and still are), so yeah, I feel for you.

I also owned a rabbit for a few years, same thing happened to it when I was a kid, once it got sick, my parents left it to slowly die from food poisoning.

As a matter of fact, they didn't even allow me to spend any money other than the most basic food on my pets, and my former turtle lived in a 10 gallon tank for its entire stay with my family (it was about 8 inches big). Of course this was before the internet was common, but I still knew it needed a bigger tank when I was a kid.

Well now I've grown and I can make my own decisions, buy my own things, not to mention my parents have learned that sitting around hoping for the best will probably result in a dead pet, I'd say my turtles are in good care.

I don't know what advice to give you, except maybe ask a good friend or relative to drive and pay for your costs temporarily, hope for the best that it's nothing, or prepare for the worst.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

If it meant giving the turtles a better owner, i owuld have no problem with this, but i got them from a chinese pet store (which was actually ver clean and proper) so i doubt they would take good care of them / give us store credit / moneyback. They'd probably just sell it to the next person who has no idea what turtles need.

May I spam now? so my dad just takes the whole tank, dumps it all in the bathtub, and decides to change the water. He poors it all out, and replaces it with hot tap water because he says that it smells like a fish store... I told him that a filter would have helped, and that taking him to a vet would only benefit him, and he told me I was crazy and obsessed, and that caring so much for a turtle is dumb. So right now, I have no idea what is hapenning, but i'm trying to keep my temper down so that I can atleast help take care of the turtles with the stuff I have now

If i was you, i would secretly call the human society and tell them your situation so that they could come to your house,take them and find a home for them.

[marisa]

The bump doesn't look like it's the result of the skin rubbing the shell. To me, it looks like an abcess (they're common on the "ears" but can grow anywhere). Assuming it is an abcess, your turtle needs to see a herp vet to have it lanced and drained. He may also receive antibiotics to make sure any infection is killed. An abcess only gets bigger and won't go away by itself. Have your turtle seen by a herp vet.

What kind of wood are you using (don't use resinous woods like cedar and pine in aquatic environments)? The yellow color is most likely the tannin from the wood being released into the water. Tannin will not harm your turtles.

[Kai.]

Are abcesses contagious? And a few other questions:
do turtles normally sleep in the water? cause last night they slept on the dock...
and they are basking almost all of the time, with their eyes closed. Is this normal? If i pick them and put them into the water to eat, they will eat the food, then climb back up onto the basking platform.

[da sAUCE!]

wow marisa you sure do know your way around wood.

[industrial_girl_2000]

If i was you, i would secretly call the human society and tell them your situation so that they could come to your house,take them and find a home for them.

Kai, I am very sorry for your situation. I agree with xsavingsaturdayx, if there is anyway for you to call the humane society (look in your phone book for the number or you can do a search online).

I will tell you that me & my dad had a LOT of disagreements when I was 14, and I was a good & caring person, just like you. It's about the fact that he is an adult & doesn't want you to grow up. For the longest time you depended on him & his opinions on how you should live. You are starting to become/think independantly & parents get very threatened by this fact because it reminds them that they are getting older. I am 33 yrs old now and I have talked to my mom a lot about when I was around 14 yrs old & how my dad was VERY unreasonable with me about some very simple things. It's like, for crying out loud, I am a PERSON and I know something that dad doesn't know. Why can't he just LISTEN to me???? It's very frustrating. But now that I am 33, have a Degree in Engineering & work as a Senior Engineer at a major Automotive firm, now he listens when I talk & occasionally asks for my opinions too! Your dad will get better over time, but it is going to take time, maybe more time than your turtle has. In the meantime, maybe the best thing to do for now is to give up the turtles to the humane society until you are old enough & independant enough to care for them on your own, WITHOUT your dad's opinions on how things should be.

I am so sorry. I wish I could help you in some way or intervene on your behalf. I have had turtles for 18 yrs and have seen how they can suffer. Your dad may not listen to you (because he thinks you are a silly kid), but maybe he will listen to another adult. I just thought of something.....do you have an aunt or uncle who would listen & could talk to your dad? Maybe a close adult family relative of some kind who loves animals??? Maybe that's a solution!!!! Maybe they will even drive you to a vet?

[Kai.]

Are abcesses contagious? And a few other questions:
do turtles normally sleep in the water? cause last night they slept on the dock...
and they are basking almost all of the time, with their eyes closed. Is this normal? If i pick them and put them into the water to eat, they will eat the food, then climb back up onto the basking platform.

Haha she just came into the house, my aunt. she's a complete dog / animal lover.

Can someone please answer the question / tell me if anythings wrong with them?

[industrial_girl_2000]

Are abcesses contagious? And a few other questions:
do turtles normally sleep in the water? cause last night they slept on the dock...
and they are basking almost all of the time, with their eyes closed. Is this normal? If i pick them and put them into the water to eat, they will eat the food, then climb back up onto the basking platform.

Haha she just came into the house, my aunt. she's a complete dog / animal lover.

Can someone please answer the question / tell me if anythings wrong with them?

Only a vet can tell you for sure if there is something wrong. I'm glad you have your aunt who is an animal lover! Have you talked to her about this situation? Can she either talk to your dad for you or maybe take you to the vet herself?