General Care Discussion :: sleepy turtle?

[Starchick]

Just a question about Hercules. Michael says he spends most of his time sleeping at the bottom of the tank. I'm not sure whether it's really unusual or not given that his old tank had so little water that he was always at the bottom. He says he's eating okay, had some lettuce and devoured the last dose of antibiotics in a peice of shrimp. And there's the fact that he's really heavy for his size, and has never really swam much before, so I can see how he'd be tired, but I'm just wondering if there's anything else I should be looking out for. Does it seem like this would be a normal reaction to his new surroundings? I'll be over there tonight so I can check on him then, just wondered what you guys think.

[SpotsMama]

Is he basking for several hours a day?

[Starchick]

That I'm not sure about. He basked several hours Saturday evening, and I saw him climb up onto the dock and jump off a few times on Sunday, but I haven't been there since (Michael lives an hour away from me) I'll ask him tonight if he's seen him basking.

[Starchick]

I asked Michael, he said he hasn't seen him basking, although it's entirely possible that he's basking while Mike's at work. He apparently slept on the dock for a while the other night with the light off. While I was there last night, he was extremely active until his lights went out, then he immediately settled down and went to sleep. I guess it's hard to say whether it's unusual since neither of us can be with him all the time. I'm a little concerned about his eating habits too, he doesn't seem to notice the pellets we give him. I think he's eating some of them but there's a few hanging out at the bottom of the tank. I did at least see him eat some carrot, and his lettuce was chewed, if not actually eaten. I'm not sure what to make of it.

[SpotsMama]

Hercules has only been in his new home for a few days, hasn't he? You might give him a few more days to perk up. Will Michael be around this weekend to observe whether he's basking and active?

If there are uneaten pellets at the bottom of the tank, why don't you see if Michael can scoop them out so the water doesn't get yucky.

Also, ask him to double check the temperatures and make sure it hasn't gotten too cool. Cool temperatures are one thing that will kill appetite and make a turtle lethargic.

[Starchick]

Yes, he's only been in there since Saturday night, which is kind of why I'm not really sure if I should even be worried. It's just weird, there's nothing extreme that would make me run him to the vet, it's just subtle things and I'm just worried that it might not be due to the move, but for all I know it probably is. I never worried so much until I had turtles! The water temperature is 80 because he was being treated for RI, and unfortunately both of us have to go out of town this weekend. He has a roommate that is going to feed Hercules, I'll have to ask him if he can keep an eye on him and see how he acts.

[SpotsMama]

You know the symptoms of RI. Do you think he's relapsing? Is he still taking meds for the RI?

[Starchick]

He had his last dose on Tuesday. He had an initial round of 7 days, then because he was still whistling the vet gave me another week's worth. I've seen no change at all in the whistling, although he doesn't seem to be breathing through his mouth, and I don't see him blowing bubbles underwater or sneezing anymore. I'm inclined to think that the RI has improved, but I don't know if the whistling will let up when he loses weight, or if it's residual from the RI, or if something else is causing it, or maybe if that's just the way he is.

[SpotsMama]

What don't you call the vet and let him know your concerns and see if he thinks Herc needs to continue with antibiotics for another week.