General Care Discussion :: What can I do?

[Hollybear]

Well, I watched the videos or turtles with RI. It only makes me know even more that Charlie has one. I have contacted the vets again and they still say they will not see him, that he is too small. Is there anything I can do to help him?

I have set the water temp at 82 the basking area is about 91. He will not eat, or swim if he can help it. I just lays around in the shallow water on doesn't do anything. I thought that Lola had one earlie, but she is better now. She swims and eats and plays with the rocks (large ones) at the bottom of the tank.

My neighbor said Charlie will die for sure and it is unkind of me to drag it out. Than I should kill him. I don't want to do that, but I don't know what to do either.

When I dry dock them for shell fungus he always has a little snot bubble on the end of his nose when I get him out.

Please give me some advice!!

[emma]

My turtle died of RI. My vet wouldn't see baby turtles either. There is nothing more you can do for your turtle than you already are. I am sorry to hear your turtle has RI.

[Hollybear]

I know I need to separate them, but I don't have 2 tanks. I want them both to be healthy, but its obvious that they both aren't. What should I do?

[megcornell]

If you haven't already, separate Lola and Charlie. That way Lola won't get ill too.
Don't kill Charlie, you shouldn't have to do that to him or to yourself. Since he is suffering, perhaps one of the vets can euthanize him. It seems awful to me that you'd have to pay them to euthanize him when they refuse to help him, but it sounds like it'd be in poor Charlie's best interests.

I'm so sorry he's ill.

[Hollybear]

Ok... I am separating them and they can use the same light 12 hours then switch. Any idea how to keep the water warm enough for him? I only have one heater and I can't get another one til tomorrow. Maybe a heating pad under the container he is in alond with the ceramic heat emitter?

[Bascomb]

Hol-bear -- I would not euphonize him. I have had a couple that should have died and did not. I have had a couple get RI and died right away. One of my survivors took forever to get well and swam lop sided for several months afterwards. He is doing well now. I made sure that he was in very clean water and dry-docked him in a warm area for about 3 hours per day. When I say warm I
mean about 90 degrees. I am not a vet, but that was my solution and it worked. --

[RES123]

my baby res had one couple weeks after, i didnt know what to do, and at the time i didnt know bout this site so i looked in my book
and it said raise the temps, like you did
what i did was put the basking light reallllly close to where they basked
and he layed there, next day he was ffeeling better swimming a bit
then the next day after that he was perfectly fine
scared me cause he was floating and not moving, completely limp

[steve]

Why can't you get a large Rubbermaid container? Having the appropriate separate setups is absolutely necessary in this case. You can also try to find someone who will take him off your hands... a vet, rehoming organization, another hobbyist...

[megcornell]

I think 90 degrees is MUCH too warm for an ill RES. I wouldn't go over the low to mid 80s.
Have you tried calling zoos or herp rescues? Maybe they have a herp vet who is more willing to treat small turtles?
How frustrating this must be for you and your turtle, I hope he pulls through.

[eugenetimpog]

I have 1 RI survivor (the other one died). And she is very healthy now. Dont give up. Mine didn't eat for 3 weeks(maybe a month.. can't exactly remember).. At that time I didn't know anything about turtles so i did some research. I found out that unlike warm blooded animals they can't raise their own temperature to fight disease so you need to raise their habitat temperature. After almost a month of not eating they started eating again. I divided the reptomins into small pieces... really small. i was happy that time but then after a few days the other one died because she drowned. Her basking area is a bit higher that the other one. She fell from the basking area on her back. They are too weak to swim and they just float because of the RI. She didn't have enough energy to turn herself upright so she drowned floating upsidedown in the water. I really felt bad because she started eating. The other one continued to her way to health. In a few days she got the energy to move around the water (floating). After a few week she can swim lopsided but still can't submerge.... then she she can submerge a few inches... And now she is healthy. She is the one on my avatar (She is "Tiger". I thought she was a male, I'm worng - now everyone just call her "Baby")

Just be careful on the dock that she can't fall upsidedown. Raise the temp to 80+. mine reach upto 85 since I place their tank outside so they can bask under the sun. If the other one didn't drowned I'm sure she is alive today. So don't give up.

[Hollybear]

I have them separated. Lola is still happy and a piggy. Her fungus is still there, but I think it ios smaller spots now.

Charlie is eating again, and floats around in his water every once in a while. He is in dry dock for the most part right now. We are putting him in water 4-5 times a day for 30 minutes at a time. He will not eat anything but his pellets, not tuna, not shrimp, nothing but pellets. His appetite is still small, but he did eat a pellet and he is pooping. I never thought I would be excited about feces. Anyway, I think he is showing signs of improvement! I am happy.

[Dein211]

oh when you have a sick turtle, feces is like GOLD. I'm glad that charlie is doing better and i'm sorry that the vet wouldn't see him because he is so small, but he seems on the road to recovery and i hope that his condition only improves!

[Hollybear]

Charlie died tonight. I had to leave town for a family emergency and my husband was doing his very best to take care of the turtles. He said that after he fed him and put him iin dry dock tonight he went to check on the little guy and he was stiff and his eyes were closed and puffy. My husband sounded like he wanted to cry.

Who would think I would get so attached to a turtle? I am sitting here crying and trying not to let anyone in my family hear me. This just sucks. Anyway, I wanted to thank everyone for all the helpful suggestions.

Lola is doing very well at least so we still have one.

[SpotsMama]

How sad! I understand completely how attached you can get to a RES.

Please don't blame yourself for how it turned out. The little ones are rather delicate and sometimes they don't make it even with the very best of care. I suppose that's why some vets won't try to treat them. I'm sorry you couldn't find one that would help.

You can turn all your attention now to Lola. She'll be a lucky turtle to be in such a caring home.

[megcornell]

Oh, I'm so sorry Charlie didn't make it. You really did all you could for him. It's always so sad when a pet dies, especially when they are so young and vulnerable.
Lola is lucky to have such a caring turtle mom.