General Care Discussion :: Is it okay to bring sick turtle outside for sun?

[littlecakes]

I was wondering if it is okay for me to be bringing my foster Ichigo outside in the sun for a short period everyday. She has pneumonia and although we are keeping the water and heat lamp on the high end of the spectrum, she definitely seems to enjoy short periods in the real sun and is the most active when she is outside. Otherwise she is basking in the heat lamp or huddled around the water heater.

I am letting her out in the back patio area for about 30 minutes around noon. At first I tried to keep her on a piece of cardboard but gave in and let her roam around supervised. She basks for a while, then wanders, then basks, then wanders, then she will find shade and I know it is probably time to bring her back in.

Is this a bad thing to do since she is sick? It seems to be the only thing that makes her "happy" (just my perception). She wont eat and doesn't move much when inside.
Thanks everyone.
Hanna
PS - In case people haven't seen my other posts, she is currently on Naxcel injections everyday.

You can see all the little dents in her shell where someone tried to mess with her or crack it open.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Honestly, as long as she doesn't catch any chills when outside, keeping her happy will help her get better faster.

[RESnTX]

Awww I bet she loves being outside after her miserable captivity. All animals love spending some time in the warm sun. She is lucky to have you taking such good care of her. I am keeping my fingers crossed for her recovery.

[littlecakes]

Thanks for your reply Jax & Tracie. Unfortunately I just checked the weather report for the next week and it's all rainy and not warm enough. Bummer.

If anyone can think of a good substitute that might cheer her up let me know.

Uh! And I am not as good of a caregiver as I would like to be! I just realized I was putting too much Reptisafe in the water!! I don't know why I thought I was supposed to put 1tsp per 2gallons. I even remember reading the label twice. I just fixed it.....

[RESnTX]

When I was helping my sister take care of her sick tortoise it was too cold to spend time outside. I had a window in my dinning room that got lots of warm sun that came in mid morning and the cats loved to nap there. So I used a large rectangle shaped laundry basket to make a safe area for the tortoise to bask in. The holes were big enough to still get plenty of sun and heat. She had a RI and like your turtle seemed to be more active when I let her spend that time in the morning catching some rays. I know that doesn't help with you getting rain, but it's an idea for maybe when it's too cool or you don't have time to supervise her outdoors.

[industrial_girl_2000]

I would give her a coupla weeks to recover from the pneumonia (at least until a week after she is off the Vet's shots), comfortably & warmly, in her tank before you take her outside.

Reason being: if you had a sick kid (for example), Doctor's always prescribe bedrest, not moving around too much so they can get the proper rest & recover. Making her sit still, in her tank environment (even if she doesn't "seem" happy) is the best thing for her right now. The fact that she isn't eating much is totally normal when they are ill. Her appetite will return once she is feeling better (again, just like a sick kid!).

Best of luck, and let us know her progress over the next week or so!

[KameKo]

good luck i hope your little one recovers. i think a few minutes out in the warm sun everyday would make her very happy, and i think that helps lead on a quick road to recovery. it's no fun when you're all cooped up inside all the time anyways so she prolly looks forward to it ^^!

[Tenodera]

She's a beautiful turtle.

I can see there's two sides to this, and I agree with both of them, except I lean a bit more to the stay inside one. Let her get used to her home first before introducing one you probably wouldn't be able to provide for her everyday.

It's strange, I prefer big turtles over little turtles. The bigger the better. I hope your turtle gets better!

Poor thing, good thing her shell is tough.

Is she eating regularly? I would wait till she feeds regularly before taking her outside.

[littlecakes]

Thanks everyone for your input! Well, she will not be going outside for a while anyway due to the weather so I don't even have to think about it. She isn't eating regularly yet and because of her very strange set up I'm sure it will take her a long time to get used to it....