Posted: Sat Feb 16, 2013 1:06 am Re: X-Ray of Mama w/ Eggs
@dumbork - it certainly cannot hurt. However, there is no quick-hit - little little turtle gals need a good diet over time.
I just learned that despite a year of meticulously providing a high-calcium diet (not counting supplements), a proper / happy / well-used basking area, and making sure the UVB was in good shape (e.g., changing the UVB before it's end-of-life), she still has a calcium issue.
All I can say is that it obviously takes twice as long (or more) to recover from a poor diet than it does for a poor diet to have a negative effect (if that makes sense).
Basically, her first clutch was good (strong shell like chicken eggs). I am not sure what happened last year...was it a snowball effect of being dry-docked for months, not eating for weeks on end and fighting a serious health issue while her little body was trying to develop eggs? I don't know.
This year, however, I am confused. Yes. Her shed is / was cruddy, but I thought it was due to last year's crud. Her nails grew back long and strong after they fell out. I just don't get it.
Which brings me to the current state:
As I mentioned, she won't give up her eggs.
Penelope's tummy was completely empty when the vet took x-rays and she has not eaten since, with the exception of two very small slivers of tuna. To get her to eat those, I had to put her in a small bin so they were "in her face"
She won't touch her beloved Belgium endive, the pellets piled up in the filter intake. I put her endive, and then pellets, and then tuna on her dock under her nose - no reaction. They sat there all day.
So we are on day 6 of no food.
Her eyes are getting buggy, and she spends most of her time retracted in her shell...it is just so sad.
Yesterday afternoon she stuck her head in the water for a few minutes (guessing she was taking a drink). About an hour later, I see drops of water coming out of the side of her mouth. Then it spilled out of her mouth on to the dock. How to describe??? Ummm...it was the same thing as when she used to "spit out" out her oral meds - only this happened a good hour after drinking. Quite disturbing.
Last night she jumped in her tank after the basking lights shut off and sunk to the bottom.
I played with her a bit and she swam to the top, but didn't show a whole lot of strength. After giving her a super quick back scratch (30 seconds or less), she sunk to the bottom.
Considering the distance from the bottom of her tank to the top, and her weak swimming ability, I have dry docked her.
She is in the bathroom with towels, a heating pad and a space heater to keep the temp at 80 degrees.
I am debating between putting her back in her tank tomorrow or not. Most likely, I will keep her dry-docked and feed her in her bin. That way she has access to a nest (if she decides to lay eggs), I know she won't drown, I can monitor feeding, and not stress her out going back and forth between nest and tank.
She was just at the vet and was cleared to come home. I am supposed to go back in one month if she does not lay them on her own UNLESS she shows signs of stress, illness, straining, etc. I am going to give the vet a call on Tuesday and see what she recommends.
and so it goes...
"I know up on the top you are seeing great sights, but down at the bottom we, too, should have rights"
~ "Yertle the Turtle and Other Stories" by Dr. Seuss ~
Bill - RES