General Care Discussion :: SCARED new turtle mom!

[wvphotogirl]

While at the beach we got a baby (1 inch shell) RES. We came home and bought a 30 gallon tank, and UVA and UVB lights for him. I keep the water around 78-82 degrees and have a good basking spot. I have been feeding him the reptomin pellets and tried a few rosy red minnows. I have done EVERYTHING! Now, he is bobbing his head. It is usually when he is in the water. I have yet to see him bask. I have had him for over a month now.

Today I noticed that the very top of his shell looks like it has been rubbed off. I don't know what to do. It is not rubbed all the way raw, but enough that the color is totally gone. His scales look like they are seperating from one another and he keeps yawning. It looks almost like someone trying to "pop" pressure in their ears.

I really want to take the best care of him that I can. Please let me know what you think the head bobbing is, and what is happening to his shell. I am SCARED I am doing something wrong.

I have attached a link to pictures below. Thanks in advance!

http://img99.imageshack.us/img99/7848/turtlecareov8.jpg

[Take-One]

West Virginia Rules!

The yawning is RI, that means you need to take him to a vet ASAP. His shell means that you are feeding him too much. As many pellets that would fit in his head if it was hollow.

Your setup is big enough and fine though

[wvphotogirl]

Thanks. The yawning is only in the water and not often, just sometimes. I never see sneezing or discarge. Do you still think it is a RI?? I really hope not. EEK!

I will feed less. Thanks.

[megcornell]

Welcome to the site!
It looks like you've done a great job getting him started.
The shell looks like it may be rubbing against something abrasive- I'm thinking maybe the large decoration you have in your tank. When your turtle tries to squeeze into areas that are too tight, he's probably rubbing his shell pretty roughly. But, more importantly, he could get stuck and drown so it's important that you take a look at the decoration up close and see if he's outgrowing it.

As for the yawning, is he doing that in or out of the water? If he's opening his mouth frequently out of the water he probably does have a respiratory infection. It's pretty common in young turtles who came from poor situations. Usually people who sell them in massive numbers don't give them any let alone quality care so it's easy for such delicate hatchlings to fall ill.
If he's just opening his mouth in the water, that isn't so worrisome, a lot of turtles have little habits like that. One of mine tends to have phases where she blows bubbles in the water and chases them. I think the deciding factor for whether he needs a vet visit is how he's yawning and if he has other symptoms like lethargy, lack of appetite, and uneven floating. The listing or uneven floating is a strong sign of RI.

Finally, as for the basking, a lot of turtles are shy baskers so you won't catch them in the act. You can cover the sides of his tank near the basking area to provide him more privacy. With time, most turtles become more accustomed to having us around and will bask around you.

I'm moving the post to general care, since it's more appropriate there and will get more responses that way.

[wvphotogirl]

thanks!

[SpotsMama]

Hi,

Cute little turtle! I agree with Meg. If he's only "yawning" when he's in the water then it's nothing to worry about. He's probably just getting a drink.

Beautiful habitat! I also wonder about the basking area. Is it made of real stone or fake stone? Can your turtle get up on it easily? If it's too hard to climb up on, it may be discouraging him from basking. And ditto the comments about making sure he can't get stuck in anything.

I have one piece of advice. It looks like you have a heat producing light bulb shining directly down on the basking platform. That's good. It looks like you also have a tube type fluorescent bulb. What type of bulb is it (brand name and strength)? I assume it's some sort of UVB bulb, which is also good. The comment I have is that the UVB bulb ALSO needs to be positioned directly over the basking area. When it's over water, like it seems to be in the photo, it's both too far away from the turtle to do what it's supposed to do and the good UVB rays will be blocked almost completely by the water itself.

I looks to me like he's getting ready to shed his shell. Turtles will normally shed the very thin top layer of their shells periodically. It looks like the edges of some scutes are looking rather pale and dull. When you press gently on them, does any water squeeze out? Does it look like the edges of the scutes (shell sections) are starting to lift a little bit?

Does he have a name by the way?

[wvphotogirl]

Thanks Spot's Mama.

Yeah, his name is Tuba. Still to young to know the sex so I refer to it as "him". I kinda hope it is a male. I worry about the egg binding and size of females.

The basking spot is artificial and he can get on it easily, but it is a little rough on the bottom. Smooth on top. I will move the UVB over to the basking area. The bulb is a reptabulb with 10% UVB I believe. I got it at Petsmart. As much as it cost it better be good (ha ha!)

The tiny little scales around his edges are kinda flipped up looking. They are pale and no longer green at all. The scales on top are all looking far apart but are still fairly bright.

[SpotsMama]

Sounds good. On the UVB light, I think it's a tube fixture judging from the photo. If it's not a tube but a compact fluorescent, watch out for signs of eye problems in your turtle as some brands of UVB compacts, especially those at the 10% level, will irritate a turtle's eyes. There haven't been problems like this with the tube fluorescents.

[wvphotogirl]

http://img81.imageshack.us/img81/5881/tubazl8.jpg

Another pic of Tuba playing in a small grassy patch. You can see the scuff mark on his back pretty good in this one.

[PcBuilder14]

The spreading apart of the scutes are normal. the do that when they grow and they're that size mine did that when I first got him.

[mat012]

My turtle also has some similar marks on the ridge of his shell though they are not as pronounced. He got them, I assume, from wedging in behind a floating dock. He eventually did get stuck (luckily we were watching him at the time). So I had to remove the suction cups from the dock.

He's adorable by the way - or for your sake I hope he's a he

Melissa - also hoping my he is a he.

[ChocoTurtle]

the shell thing is just growing thats it

[wvphotogirl]

I found out he is wedging himself behind the filter we have hanging in the tank. It is scuffing his shell. Any ideas on how to prevent that? I am scared he will get stuck and drown. I am headed to the store to find another kind of filter.

[SpotsMama]

You can either fix the filter so he absolutely can't get behind it, or you can fix it so that if he does get behind it, he can get loose easily.

Is the filter attached to the wall of the tank with suckers? If so, if you removed some of the suckers (the ones at the bottom of the filter), would it still stay in place but be easier for your turtle to get loose?

[wvphotogirl]

Yep, suction cup kind of filter. I will remove suctions.....
(later)

I was afraid it would just float up and not work, but you were right.
Thanks Spot's Mama!