General Care Discussion :: My baby RES going to die?

[Boston_Zhao]

Someone gave a baby red ear slider to my kids, but we had no idea how to take care of him, didn;t have proper food and habitat for almost 2 weeks. Now he is so listless and motionless, like hibernating all the time even in room temp. I bougt a tank, an island and a UVB so he can bask, but still no sign of any energy. I cant put him in the water, because he wont swim, may get drown right? so he is on the dock not moving, with eyes shut. Barely touch his turtle food. What can I do to save him? Now I take over from my kids, I really want him to live. Please help.

[jenaero]

Please describe your setup in detail. What is the water temp? What is the basking temp? He needs to have access to water even if it's shallow for now. They can dehydrate easily. The more details you give us, the better equipped we will be to help.

Have you called a vet?

[missibsu]

A proper set up with correct lighting, filtration, and heat is vital to the well being of your turtle. Visit the main site and read the basic care information. I think that a vet visit is in order.

[Boston_Zhao]

Please describe your setup in detail. What is the water temp? What is the basking temp? He needs to have access to water even if it's shallow for now. They can dehydrate easily. The more details you give us, the better equipped we will be to help.

Have you called a vet?

OK, I am really a beginer of reptile keeper as I said> I picked up some knowledge just couple days ago. Now I have a 10 gallon tank, I fill half tank water, a water wamer preset for turtles at 80 degrees.... I have a floating island for the turtle to get dry and bask. That plastic thing has a rock look, and a ramp into the water for climbing. I have a full spectrum daylight bulb with fixture in use now, a UVB (damn expensive for just a light bulb) without fixture yet, still looking for right one for the tank. So at this time the daylight
light, a wamer, tank, and the dock.
I tried to put him in the water, some bubbles came out his mouth, maybe he was drinking? Actually he didnt swim, I am not sure if he can swim yet, he just floats with head submerged. I dont know how long a RES can be submerged. Then I put him back on the island, he wasstill not moving, just blinked his eye.....
Any idea?
I am not insured with a vet, is it gonna be a big fortune for a visit?

[jenaero]

The cost of the vet visit will really depend on what's wrong with the turtle. Either way, you owe it to him to get him looked at.

Sounds like you've got the basics done. Only thing I can see that you've missed is a thermometer for both the water and the basking area. You can't trust those heaters. If I set my heater to 75, the water gets to 80+

[Boston_Zhao]

By the way, he is just an inch long, I really worried about him being not able to swim. Can a turtle drown if unable to get his head out of water?

[missibsu]

Your turtle can drown if he get trapped and can't come up for air, but just swimming on his own, free of any obstructions shouldn't be a problem. Just make sure that there is no way for him to get caught in the decorations in the tank.

[CountryGirl68]

You should find a good herp vet and take the turtle to the vet. Hatchlings can hide diseases well and when the symptoms are noticable, it can be too late. I live in NY and my vet charged $75 for the initial visit. Anything else can bring the cost up quite a bit. So the sooner you have him checked out, the cheaper it may be.