General Care Discussion :: Need Help Please

[Shellross82]

I was just got my daugther 2 res for her birthday. I thought there was nothing to them. Just throw some gravel and water in a tank and a way you go, but wow how wrong i was. We have 2 of them, Shelby and Kyle. I think we named them right. Shelby only wants to swim in the water, which I now know is a little to cold and Kyle doesn't do anything. I put a lamp over the end of the tank where kyle can bask and he came out of his shell a little bit. He looks like he is sleeping all the time. There even seems to be something covering his eyes. Help me!! They don't seem to be eating either.

[Vivi]

what are the temps of the water and basking area?? also how big is there tank?? what are you feeding them?? if the water is too cold then they will not eat. try some guppies or rosie reds. or some tuna from the can. just make sure you clean(???) it i guess.

as for something covering there eyes while basking, what does it look like?? does it look like a white crust?? if yes then it is just calcium thats in there water. as far as i know nothing bad could happen.

ohh and do you still have the gravel in there tank?? gravel isnt good for turts because they will eat it and it will cause intestinal problems. make sure you take that out and try river rocks.

ohh and welcome to the forum.

[Apollo&Scampi]

I am no expert as I just joined this community and asked questions about my turtles too.

But I think the best place to start is telling everyone about how big the turtles are and telling everyone about your tank setup (how big the tank, water level, how warm is the water, is there a dry area for them bask, is there a basking light, filter or no filter.. that kind of stuff).

[octpusgirl8]

The best place to start is by reading over this info: http://www.redearslider.com/index_habitat.html as well as the other pages on redearslider.com. I'm sure you have a lot to learn, and pet store employees generally seem to do more harm than good with their advice. Once you feel like you have a handle on the general requirements, feel free to ask any specific questions you might have. About the turtle that seems to be sleeping a lot, he might be scared and new, or he might be sick. Read up on turtle illnesses and see what you think. Good luck

[Shellross82]

My res are around 2 inches. They are in a 10 gallon tank. There isn't a lot of water maybe 3-4 inches deep and in one end there is the gravel that I have piled up to make a hill so that they can get out of the water. There is a floating log, but I put the log in the basking area (gravel) so that they had more room to be out of the water. I bought a basking lamp. The water is at room temp. I have been giving them floating sticks of food, but also went and got them some minows to eat, but they are still swimming happily in the tank. I also but a in water filter, but have no put it in the tank yet.

I have some questions that I hope some of you can help me more on. Sounds dumb, but do they have eyelids and if they do I think that may be Kyle's problem. He never has his eyes open. Is there anything I can do. How do I know how warm the basking area is? Do I need more water in there or is this going to ok for a little bit while I'm still learning how to take care of them?

You guys have been great so far as to helping me, so thank you very much and I know they are thanking you too.

[Starchick]

If your turtle is never opening his eyes, it could be that they're swollen shut, which could mean an eye infection or a symptom of something else. Can you post pictures?

Room temperature water is low enough to put turtles at risk for respiratory infection. It can also cause them to stop eating, as they are cold blooded and their digestion slows down when they're cold. You really need to get a submersible heater and keep the water at about 80 degrees (when they're older and healthy you can lower it a few degrees, but for babies it should be warmer, and when there's any suspicion of illness it's good to raise it a bit) Also, you didn't mention a uvb lamp, that's another must.

I'm not sure what your budget is, but if you could only do a few things immediately, I'd suggest getting the water heater, and either a basking dock or a turtle ramp so you can remove the gravel (if they swallow it it can kill them).

[pinkcadillac]

Hi shellross,

I think the most important thing for you to do is get control on the temperatures in your tank. The water needs to be at 80 for baby RESs and the basking area needs to be ~90. Youll need to go pick up some thermometers from the store and make sure the temp stays around 80 and 90 to both make sure your turtles have an appetite and to prevent respitory infections.

What type of lighting have you provided them? As starchick mentioned above they will need UVB light along with a heat lamp.

Im also very sorry to hear about Kyles situation. Can you post some pictures possibly? Also if you very gently touch his shell does it feel soft at all?

Keep us updated and goodluck

[Shellross82]

The light I have is a UVA. Is that good enough for the heat? It says its for basking. I went out and bought a heater, filter, and floating dock today. When I return home from work tonight I am going to install the water heater and filter. The floating dock is already in place.

Kyle's eyes don't seem to be swollen shut, but I guess they could be. He will open them if he is put in the water. He doesn't really do much other than that. We have put him in the water to see if he can swim, which he can. He just goes straight back to the basking area.

I have noticed that the other one will be basking until it hears or sees someone enter the room, then she will jump down in the water and stay there. She seems to be doing just fine.

[Starchick]

Turtles jumping down from their basking spots is pretty normal, many are just shy.

I'm concerned about Kyle, excessive basking and eye problems could mean a respiratory infection or other illness. Check the health section of this site for a full list of symptoms (austin's turtle page is a good resource too) but watch him and see if he is yawning, blowing bubbles underwater, tilting to one side when swimming, or has a discharge from his eyes or nose.

Have either of them started eating? Hopefully correcting the temperatures will help with that, but if it doesn't you may need to consider seeing a vet.

[marisa]

What are the water and basking area temps? What is the temp of the room they're in? Water temp for a healthy hatchling should be about 78F, basking area about 90F. If you think your turtles are ill, you might up the water temp for a while to 80-81F. Check the temps with a thermometer.

What are you trying to feed them? On the chance that they have a Vit A deficiency, you could get some plain cod liver oil and use a q-tip to apply a little to the eyelids once or twice a day. If a Vit A deficiency is the problem you should start to see some improvement over 3-5 days.

You turtles need a UVB light in addition to the UVA light (you could just use an incandescent lightbulb rather than buying a special UVA light).

[Shellross82]

I installed the heater in the tank; water temp is around 78-80 degrees. Still not sure what temp basking is at. Kyle is still not doing that good. He has one eye open at times, but the other remains closed. He doesn't swim unless he slips off the basking area. He seems to be swimming on top of the water only. I tried to get him to go under the water, but he floated right back to the top like a balloon. That can't be normal. I think that he does have a RI because of everything that I have read. I try to keep him in the basking area and to not distrub him. Toinght I tried to give him some gatorade with a small syringe, but that didn't seem to work. I want to try and get something in his little body. Any suggestions???

My other one, Shelby, is doing great. She loves swimming and has even ate one of the minows that I put in the tank. She seems to be a little begger when it comes to eatting, which sounds normal.

[TheComputerGremlin]

You should probably isolate Kyle in case he gets Shelby sick. It's better to lose one turtle than two! Since they are so small, you can run out to a pet store and get a cheap small plastic tank to put Kyle in and if you can, get another tank heater for his tank. Since he's basking a lot and floating up when he's in the water, I wouldn't put too much water in the smaller tank, like 3 inches. Based on what others on the board have said, you can try to find a vet, but they may not treat him because he's young/small. But I would definitely get him away from Shelby as soon as possible.

[marisa]

Will he nibble at some food (like a bit of tuna) if you hold it in front of his nose in the water? Did you try a little cod liver oil on the eyelids?

If you think he has an RI, it would be best to separate him from the other turtle, keep him a bit warmer (water 82F, basking area around 91F) and have him seen by a herp vet.

[Shellross82]

SInce Kyle won't go into the water would it be ok if I put him in a different container with no water? Or should it have a little water in it. I can't afford to go out and buy another tank and heater for it, but I do have a light that would keep him warm in the basking area. Does he have to eat in the water? He never goes in there and when he does all he does is cough. Can I feed him in the basking area? I'm going to try and find a vet on Monday that will see him since he has been sick for so long. This is so frusrating because I just don't know what else to do.

Thank you guys for all of your help.

[marisa]

You don't need to buy another tank for him, another container would work--- people sometimes use storage containers like Rubbermaids to house their turtles. You could keep him in something like that with a lower water level (which does need to be heated). If you kept him in the container without water, he would need to be hydrated periodically, and you should monitor the temp so he doesn't get too warm (I'd give him a cloth to burrow under).

RES do have to be in the water to eat (they can't swallow otherwise). If I were to keep him in a container without water, I'd have another container for feeding/hydrating and would put him in it (the water temp should be 80-82F) twice a day for about 20-30 min. to eat and get hydrated. You could get some plain Pedialyte and mix some 50/50 with water to put him in for feeding/hydrating. Keep trying to get him to eat something. Make sure he's not exposed to any drafts/cool breezes.

Do find a herp vet for him ASAP.