General Care Discussion :: DUMBORK has RI - vet visit story

[dumbork14]

yes. every after water change i will observe her behavior for 10 minutes or so.

[steve]

It's probably chlorine irritating his eyes... should be normal after a few hours.

[devilduck]

How are things going in Quezon City with the recent flooding?

[dumbork14]

How are things going in Quezon City with the recent flooding?

hi devil duck, thanks for asking. some areas of QC are fine (like in Diliman; the water is only gutter deep), but i cannot say for the others (commonwealth and New Manila areas). we stayed inside for the last two days (classes and work are suspended) so i wasn't able to experience/see the flood first hand. based on the news, the commonwealth area experienced a landslide (9 people were killed, most of them children ); New Manila and other parts of QC were in WAIST deep and NECK deep water (they were now subsiding, finally). the weather here is now improving, and we can see the skies clearing up with a hint of sunshine.
we're hoping for the best.

in Diliman, we have a lagoon there and it overflowed:

dumbork was afraid of the thunder (she keeps retracting her head), but she managed to bask yesterday when i raised the temp to 95F.

[penelope]

So glad to hear that there was improvement. One extra week of meds is normal (as I mentioned before).
If my calculation is correct, Dumbork has finished that last week of meds. How are things going?
With so much going on around your home (i.e., the flooding) I really admire your care for your little one.

I like the idea of tilting the tank.
Not intended for you Dumbork, anyone considering the idea of tilting a tank should do so by tilting the surface the tank sits on. If it sits on the table, put something under the table to tilt it, not under the tank. That way the integrity of the tank is maintained, regardless of the size...just a little trick I learned when the "experts" moved my tank.

I am happy to hear about the basking!!!! Sounds like little Dumbork is ready to get back to doing turtley things

[dumbork14]

thanks penelope! dumbork is doing fine now, but the vet mentioned a monitoring phase for one week. since the Baytril didn't give any side effects (loss of appetite, lethargy), the vet said to check her appetite, her limbs, and the shell. even with the UVB lamp, he strongly advised to get dumbork some sun.

as for the tilting of the tank, that's a very great tip. hopefully i won't have to use the block of wood again.

i will fill her tank to its full capacity over the weekend.

like a common cold, does RI come back for a turtle every now and then? just wondering.

thanks for the support everyone!

[penelope]

Monitoring is an important phase of recuperation. The hard part is to monitor without becoming paranoid (like I tend to do).
I am guessing that what the vet means by checking her limbs and shell is to look for signs of an illness that hit her blood (sepsis).
Now don't get scared, it is just something to check to make sure she is fully recuperated (RES can hide illness quite well).
Just take her out each day and look for pinkness on her plastron, the seams of her plastron, and her upper limbs. Trust me; if it's there you WILL notice it right away.

No vet is perfect, but from the sound of it yours seems to know what he/she is doing when it comes to RES, so keep following his/her advice.

As for an RI returning - Yes, just like a cold a RES can get an RI more than once.
Just keep the symptoms in the back of your mind (the nose bubbles, swimming with a tilt, lethargic, loss of appetite, etc.), again, don't obsess over every move (like I did)

Little bubbles once or twice are not a reason to run to the vet; it's frequency over a short period of time.
For example, if I cough once or twice and have no other issue, it's no big deal.
If it progresses to coughing more often, feeling tired all the time, and not really wanting to eat, then it's time to wonder.
If I cough all the time, sleep all day, have no interest in food, and have a fever it's probably time for me to see the doctor.
The same applies to RES. Just replace the symptoms in my example with: Bubbles from the nose, lethargy, loss of appetite, puffy eyes, etc.
I think you get the idea.

If anyone spends time with their RES daily, even if making a mental note as walking by, they will quickly see signs of a potential illness and that is the time to raise the radar and put the little one on "illness watch"

I think you will do just fine

PS - support is what we are all here for - whether it be looking for it, or giving it!
Can't wait until next week to hear Dumbork is doing great!

[dumbork14]

thank you for these words. i'm pretty paranoid too. good thing i have my vet contact in speed dial. it was difficult to find a herp vet here, the title of my vet is exotic/wildlife specialist. i did a very thorough research on him and i'm glad that he really knows what he's doing. thanks again.

[dumbork14]

hello! I wanted to post another topic but i'll just voice my concern on this thread.
Since Dumbork is already well, I decided to put her in the 15 gallon tank with full water. when i put her in, she grabbed on the the ramp and immediately went up to the basking area. after exploring the ATBA she seemed to look beyond the deep water, as if undecided if she wanted to go to the deep. she seemed skittish all the time, as if afraid to go to the deep water. what do you think can cause this behavior? lucky for me, i decided to put a resting area, and she seemed to like it there. it's only 30 minutes but i haven't seen her go explore the tank. i'm worried.
could she be afraid of the bubbles from the submersible pump connected to the Hang on top filter?
can this be a result of RI? they can't adapt easily from shallow water to deep water?

here's the current set up:

here's her closeup:

please help! thanks!

[steve]

It might take a few minutes to get used to being back into her tank, how is she doing now?

[dumbork14]

it's been an hour -- she went for a swim for 2 minutes. i've been uploading 2 videos in youtube and will post the link later. please watch it and see her behavior. for now she's sleeping, but she is completely still. is that normal? as in, as if dead. i'm really worried, i'm used to her moving positions even if she's asleep. her throat is also not moving, and she stays in the same position, in the ramp..

[dumbork14]

here's the vids:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBsFKQVHqdI[/youtube]
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wE0H-rTeGFA[/youtube]

is there anything wrong? it's nighttime here and i don't want to sleep with the possibility of a drowned turtle in the morning. i've kept the tank secure so that she cant' escape (since the tank is full). i'm using my new filter (see thread here http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=33031) -- can she eat the tubes and the cords? also, is there a possibility of electrocution for submersible pumps?

thanks.

[steve]

The swimming seems OK, maybe she's getting used the new filter? Electrocution is a possibility (please use a GFCI) but I can't recall it happing to anyone on the forum.

[devilduck]

I never had heard of a turtle biting through an electric cord but would keep them as out of the way as possible.

Dumbork looks like he's doing fine with the higher water level. You might possibly add another platform, such an over turned ceramic bowl or flower pot so he has a intermediate step between the bottom of the tank and the green platform.

[dumbork14]

okay, thanks a lot! yes, i'm using a GFCI. good news, all is well. again, i'm just being paranoid. i was bracing for the worse when i woke up,but she seemed okay, swimming and already basking this morning! i fed her and still ravenous; i'm going to reintroduce her to veggies later (i will use a clip so that she will munch on it when she becomes hungry). i noticed that she preferred the resting area. i will put another resting area later. thanks for the replies and concern, as usual, paranoia gets ahead of me.