General Care Discussion :: sick turtles?

[woodbutcherjg]

My mother in law got two red ear turtles for my daughter while on vacation. Both turtles have made a long car trip to get back home, but I think one may be sick. They were both very small less than 3 inches. One that seems ok has a light green color and is some what active, the other has a very dark green color and is less active. They both have trouble eating the pellets so I have been soaking them in water to make them soft and they seem to be doing ok with that. They won't eat any kind of vegitation yet. The one I am worried about seems to have trouble opening its eyes I don't know if this is bad. They both bask a lot and there swiming is fine there just not real active. There water is at about 80 and they have a basking area and a full spectrum light, just not sure what else to do, there just so small, is there other nutrional requirments they need? Any advise would be helpful.

[Starchick]

Read through the info on the main page at redearslider.com, it should tell you all the basics. It sounds like you're doing all right. Make sure your full spectrum light is actually a uvb lamp, you want at least 5% uvb output. They may just be stressed out right now. The one may have an eye infection, zoomed makes eye drops for turtles that work very well, but if after a few days you don't see much improvement you may need to take them to a vet.

[SpotsMama]

Especially with little recently acquired turtles, you need to watch out for respiratory infection (RI). Symptoms are swollen eyes, lethargy, poor appetite, yawning, sneezing or breathing with the mouth open, mucus around the nose. A turtle may not have all these symptoms but if he/she has several, then a trip to the vet is in order - and the sooner the better. RI is a serious illness in turtles. Their chances of survival are best if they are treated early and aggressively.

I don't mean to sound scary - it's just something that new turtle owners need to be aware of.

[urbancleopatra]

the turtle needs to eat in water. they don't have any salivary glands.

[RunninWideOpen]

They have to be in the water to be able to swallow.

From what I've seen, "Full spectrum" lights usually have very little UVB. You need a light that actually has a UVB rating on the box....5.0 or 10.0.

Does the one have trouble opening eyes just out of the water, or in the water as well?

keep offering the veggies, eventually they'll start eating them. it took Donny a week or two to start eating the veggies once i got him. he was 2" at the time.

[woodbutcherjg]

Ok so he only seems to have trouble opening his eyes when he is out of the water once he jumps in he seems to see alright. His eyes are the only thing, he eats and swims normaly, there is no breathing throught the mouth or mucus around the nose. There light had a UVB rateing of 5.0. I do feed them in the water I just isolated it because the filter tends to push the food to the bottom of the tank and they were having trouble holding on to it while they ate. They bask a lot so mabey I need to make it warmer over there basking area. Thank you all for the help

[SpotsMama]

The water temp is pretty warm - you could lower it a couple of degrees.

What brand of bulb do you have? Is it a compact fluorescent?

[woodbutcherjg]

Yea it is a exo-terra I think.

[steve]

Was there an eye problem before the lamp was used? You can also try to ZooMed eye drops that were mentioned or using something like cod liver oil.

[woodbutcherjg]

The eye problems seemed to have started after a long car ride back to CT. Although I have been using a 75 watt bulb for there heat source and this has been shining right at them maby this has irritated there eyes. So I am unpluging the bulb and moved the uvb light directly over there heads and moved it up about 12 inches, I hope I havent hurt there eyes. I will have to find another heat source because there basking area is less than 90 degrees, maby this is why they are basking all the time.

[RunninWideOpen]

What type of heat bulb are u using? If it is just a regular household bulb, I don't think that's what's hurrting their eyes.

[steve]

They would actually be less inclined to bask if the area is not warm enough. How were they transported? Can you describe it? It's possible they may have been injured that way.

[marisa]

Was the turtle exposed to any drafts or cool breezes in the car (like AC)? A lot of basking even when the water is warm could be an attempt to ward off an infection (like an RI).

What's the temp of the basking area? (Check it with a thermometer.) If it's really warm and they're basking a lot, it's also possible that the eyelids are getting dried out, making them difficult to open until the turtle is back in the water (and the water is lubricating the eyelids). Are they swollen at all?

Both the heat source and the UVB light should be positioned over the basking area.

[woodbutcherjg]

In the car they were in a small plastic carrier that had shredded news paper in it, it was positioned behind the passenger seat on the floor. The ac was on but not that high, it stayed pretty warm in the carrier, it was about 16 hour drive. I just got a black light heat bulb that I can leave on all night, I had been turning off both lights at night. Both seem to still be eating alright and when they do get in the water they are fairly active, I guess it is a turtle I'm not sure how much activity to look for. I don't have a thermoeter but the basking area wasen't that warm, the new black light produces more heat so we will see, also got some smaller pellets. Also I haven't seen any poop on there basking area, in fact I have never seen any at all since I have had them.

[zdub20]

Well, as far as poop goes, depending on whta you have in your tank
like some rocks or other fun decorations, you wont see it lying around
anywhere. Also, turt doo doo dissipates/dissolves very fast. Tommy,
since I feed him in a separate container, likes to doo doo when he's
making room for food or after he's eaten inside the container. But
Sincere only goes after he eats in the tank, when I'm not looking.
So most likely if your staring him down after they've eaten, that
doo doo's not goin anywhere. Good Luck.