General Care Discussion :: My RES is Wheezing

[Dark-Blah]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and i'm a fairly new turtle keeper.

He's 3.5"

I have read up on RI and it's symptoms.
I was wondering if a turtle wheezes, does that mean that the turtle definatly have RI? sometimes he wheezes and sometimes he doesn't.
Also, i'm not sure, but i may have heard a clicking sounds from him. I'm currently looking for a herp vet, but i would like to know if my turtle is in trouble. I'm kind of scared, cause i'm inexperienced at turtle sickness and i think there is a high chance he does have RI.

[Take-One]

He does have RI. You need a herp vet QUICK. This is a deadly disease.

[Nettle]

Could you describe his setup in detail: tank gallonage, water temp, basking temp, etc.? How's his appetite? What do you feed him, how much and how often?

Breathing with his mouth open out of the water is a big sign of RI. Not sure about clicking, but lethargy, and lack of appetite are other signs.

[Dark-Blah]

my setup is a 10 gallon, water temp is 84F, i have an "exo terra" basking light and an "exo terra" 5.0 UVB light, i feed him pellets one day and red lettuce the next day, and alternate. i go by my assumptions for the red lettuce - i feed him how ever much and when he just pokes at the lettuce i take it out. pellets - i have a 5cc cup and i feed my turtle one and a half scoops of pellets using that cup. he still has an appetite.

[octpusgirl8]

It does sound like RI. If he's still eating and active, it means it's still in it's early stages, and most likely highly treatable. Get him to a vet sooner rather than later, once it progresses it's harder to cure. FYI, 10 gallons is too small for a 3.5" turtle, you should ideally have 10 gallons per inch of turtle.

[Dark-Blah]

yeah =.= i read it all over the forums, my gf's friend gave it to her quite suddenly, so we had to get a tank and quick, we bought a turtle starter kit which was SO bad the only thing we kept from that kit was the tank, i'm looking up craig's list for a 110g tank. So, much to do and to know =P. I'm kind of scared for my turtle. the weird thing is my gf said Boog - my turtle - wheezed before and it's been happening for a while. he doesn't seem to be sick, but i'm going to get him checked out anyways! thanks for all your help =)!

Also, is my water temp to high? because i read that 78F was a good temp. Also, i have one of those tape on temperature stickers (which also came with the kit =P)

[Chrisbarnett]

Yes 84 is very warm. You should lower it down to about 78-80 for a sick turtle. 74-76ish for a healthy turtle.

[marisa]

Perhaps your turtle is getting overheated. What's the temp of the basking area?

[Dark-Blah]

i don't have a thermometer in there yet. But in my opinion, i just found out that Boog may be a female!! and she may be overweight ( i saw a picture of an overweight turtle). i think that is why she wheezes. Also, Marisa the UVA lamp is pretty close to the basking area, because her eyes get a little irritated =T. Thanks for the help =).