General Care Discussion :: Trouble Visit To The Vet.

[Evelyn]

Hi All ,
I took my turtle Trouble today to have his shell checked. I did not like a couple of spots he had on his shell. The Vet. didn't think it was shell rot.
Just a couple of things that may have caused this to happen, lack of Vit. D and incorrected ph. Vet. gave him a Vitamin shot and vitamins to take home. His shell is very hard and the Vet. said he was very active for this time of year. We could see that the inside of his mouth was very healthly. He told me there are rocks that I could add to the tank to keep the ph at 7.0 but I for got the name of them. I would only need one or two in the tank. I have one piece of large red slate on the basking platform something that gets wet. I wonder if that could make the ph go from 7.0 to 6.0 fast. I know rocks, different kinds of rocks can change the the ph.
Well I'm still worried about the spots on the shell so I have keep an eye on them and get some Vit. D into him and work on the ph.
My bill was $49.00 and I was not unhappy with that.
Trouple hide under his basking platform for about an hour when he got back to his home.
Evelyn

[pumpkinsherbet]

that's a pretty good vet bill! i am glad it didn't turn out to be shell rot.

[SpotsMama]

Good news!

[steve]

Hi Evelyn, are all the shots Vitamin D3? If you have a UVB light, your turtle will produce it's own Vit D3. There are also powdered calcium + D3 supplements that I would suppose is an alternative to an injection. I've only heard of people using D3 injections in serious cases of metabolic bone disease. How big is Trouble by the way?

[Evelyn]

I think was just a general vitamin shot.
Steven I don't think there any light that really makes vitamin D.
The vitamin to add to food I can buy at the pet shop to for raptils.
A, D, calcium, B's and so on.
The problem was that my tank top had a plastic top and the light laid on top of it. I knew this was wrong, but I got away with for years. The other turtles that I have, have different covers for their tank.
I know it's still a cold out but, in the afternoon I get very strong sun in my yard so for 5 minutes or so I will take him out for sun.
I don't even know why the turtles have lived so long for me. I was so busy breeding birds, I had little time for them, just the basics.
Evelyn

[industrial_girl_2000]

Steven I don't think there any light that really makes vitamin D.
The vitamin to add to food I can buy at the pet shop to for raptils.
A, D, calcium, B's and so on.
The problem was that my tank top had a plastic top and the light laid on top of it. I knew this was wrong, but I got away with for years. The other turtles that I have, have different covers for their tank.
I know it's still a cold out but, in the afternoon I get very strong sun in my yard so for 5 minutes or so I will take him out for sun.
I don't even know why the turtles have lived so long for me. I was so busy breeding birds, I had little time for them, just the basics.
Evelyn

Actually, vitamin D is what is known as the "sunshine vitamin" because it can be produced inside our own bodies when we go out in the sun (energy from the sun goes into your skin, & gives the energy/radiation required to synthesize the vitamin.....science is so cool!). For humans, all that is needed is to expose an open area of skin to the sun for a few minutes a day. Reptile sun-needs are different though so I won't speak for them (slower metabolism), but they are capable of also synthesizing the vitamin D with the correct light. UVB light is what all reptiles need for vitamin D synthesis.

[pumpkinsherbet]

no light makes vita d, but you and your animals both need a certain amount of uv light in order for the body to produce it. vitamin D3 is one of those vitamins that can only be produced by the body through the proper uv absorption.

*edit* oh, industrial girl beat me to it

[industrial_girl_2000]

Pumpkinsherbet, we were on the same mental wavelength today! LOL!

[marisa]

If your turtle is healthy and you're giving him a reputable pellet as part of his diet, he should really not need vitamin supplements.

Your turtle can get some Vit D3 from the diet if it's provided, however, most keepers also provide a UVB light to ensure that a turtle gets sufficient Vit3 by metabolizing it from the UVB rays.