General Care Discussion :: is something wrong with my baby res

[bob_rod7]

i bought a baby res and when i first bought it.he was very friendly and swam and ate dried shrimp then he stoped eating so i thought he didnt like them anymore and i tried to give him reptomin baby food and he stil didnt eat and now he doesnt eat and its been about 3 weeks and he always basks and hardly opens his eyes is something wrong with him and also he is about one inch

[Giddy]

Where did you get the turtle?

[bob_rod7]

at a pet store in austin

[Giddy]

Well, it is against the law for them to even sell you this turtle. How long have you had it, in how much water, what kind of filtration and what was his diet the whole time?

I am sure more people will be in to help you soon. Take care...

[jenaero]

I think your best bet is to contact a herp vet. I don't know if size will have anything to do with treatment. I can't see it being an issue because I had a couple of small anoles that were treated successfully.

[bob_rod7]

giddy-i kno it is illegal i found that out about a week ago i have had since august after katrina we went to austin because we thougt it was going to hit us but thank god it didnt and while we were there i went to look at a pet store and saw a tank full of little babies turtles so i bought one it has about 3 inches of water and it has a repto filter which keeps his tank very clean his diet was dried shrimp then i switched him to repto baby and he only ate it a few times

[bob_rod7]

I think your best bet is to contact a herp vet. I don't know if size will have anything to do with treatment. I can't see it being an issue because I had a couple of small anoles that were treated successfully.

arent anoles lizzards are something

[marisa]

bob_rob, what kind of set-up do you have him in, and what is the water temp?

If you've only been feeding him dried shrimp (or even it you fed other things but that was his main diet) his diet was lacking, and this now could be showing up in the symptoms you described. Can he still see? If so, try hand feeding him something smelly--bits of tuna packed in water. You could soak the pellets inthe tuna water to make them smellier/more appealing as well.

Are the eyes swollen or covered with a film at all? Try some plain cod liver oil applied on the eyelids once or twice a day for several days to see if that helps. There are also turtle eye drops by Zoo-Med that might help. If you try these things and don't see a postitive response, look for a herp vet to take him to.

Does your turtle have a UVB light (this isn't the same as a basking light, which gives off heat). The UVB light is necessary for the health of his shell and bones. Is his shell soft? Small turts tend to have softer shells than older turts, but they are still firm. I'm talking softer than that.

[bob_rod7]

marisa his shell is hard and normal he opened his eyes yesterday but it was like he had to force them open he kept rubbing them with his front legs and barely had his open then later on they were closed again when i came back to check on him his water temp is 85f he is in a ten gallon tank but its not small for him he has plenty of room to swim because he is so small and no i dont have a uvb light i just a have a regular 60 watt light bulb

[bob_rod7]

squirt that is the turtle were talking about had his eyes open all day but he did these wierd blinks he would blink one eye at a time and hold the eye shut for a second or 2 which is long for a blink and then he would do the same with the other eye and so on and so on but his eyes dont look fully open u can see the pupil but they look squinted i wanna go and buy those zoo-med drops today ill try and look around the pet stores and also his top eye lids are sort of puffy which gives the squinting look

[marisa]

If the water temp is 85F, what's the basking area temp? I'd lower the water temp a few degrees. It would still be warmer than the usually recommended temp for a healthy turt (78F).

Squirt needs a UVB light in addition to the 60-watt basking light. It's important for his health.

Keep trying to get him to eat some of those Reptomin Baby pellets. In the beginning you could get them soft and mix them with some of the shrimp or other food he likes. When he starts eating, lower the proportion of the shrimp, etc. until he's just eating the pellets.

How often do you change the water?

[bob_rod7]

about once twice a month i try to clean the tank the filter does a good job i just cleanded it about 2 weeks ago and about the tuna do u mean like chicken of the sea ill lower that water temp and the basking area is 92f i will try to go tomorow to go and buy a uvb light i couldnt today my mom was at work and ill try and find those turtle eye drops also could i add another baby red ear i found a site on the internet that sells babies

[marisa]

I wouldn't add any more turtles at this point. I'd concentrate on getting the baby you have healthy (and the 10-gallon would be too small). Chick of the Sea packed in water is OK.

[bob_rod7]

ok good i have a 30 gallon tank once i get the turtle healthy then do u think i could add another turtle

[sonyj]

I would only get another turtle if you are committed to raising and care for these turtles for the next 20-30 (or more) years. That includes full size set ups for mature RES, up to 120 gallons per turtle (males reach 7-9 inches in length, females 10-12 inches) and everything that goes with it. It's possible to need separate set ups for each turtle as it grows if they are not compatible with each other(territory issues, aggression/harm etc). If they do not have to be separated then you will be looking into a pond at some point to have enough room to house them together. You must look down the road and ask yourself are you going to be able to provide this for them as they grow. Having more than one turtle doubles/triples the cost of maintaining their home and equipment and you must be prepared for this.