All Turtles Message Board

nutrattler · Guest Joined: 21 Oct 2005 Posts: 4

Hi all. My red-eared slider has been behaving oddly over the last week. I am unsure if he is sick. Please help. He is 6 years old, shell is 8 inches long and he lives with another male of the same age but of slightly bigger size. They have fought at times and have recently come out of a hibernation state (it's spring time here in NZ). I removed his male companion yesterday to allow him plenty of rest. Also, considered that if he has a virus then it would be best to avoid contraction between the two turtles.

Here are the types of behaviour he is exhibiting:
- Been spending alot of time on the sun ramp sitting limp with front legs dangling over edge of ramp. He also at times makes a croaking noise similar to a frog. (No he hasn't eaten tadpoles lately!)
- when in water he is fairly motionless but often has been biting at his front legs and scratching his face.

Any ideas and advice would be appreciated. Confused

contact444 · Posted: Fri Oct 21, 2005 6:54 pm Post subject:

Sounds like it could be a cough. Raise the temp in your tank and see a vet, if it is a RI or even a cold it will probably need medicine. This site is one that Dixie linked to I took a look at it and it has some really good info on illness and diseases.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medinjuries.htm#Pneumonia:

Good Luck
_________________
2 big RES, 1 Flowerhorn Cichlid, 1 Cockatiel. I will alway hold a place in my heart for Daphne, my albino RES.

dixieee · Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 8:53 am Post subject:

i agree with contact. seems like ur guy came out weak from hibernation. was he ok b4? raise the temps as a precaution and keep offering him food, it's critical at that stage. keep us posted plz
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

STRAYKINGFISHER · Posted: Sat Oct 22, 2005 4:12 pm Post subject:

Well, nothing really left to say exept good luck and keep us posted.

Here is a link to reptile vets in the US, the other is for everywhere else outside the US:

http://www.arav.org/USmembers.htm

http://www.arav.org/WorldMembers.htm
_________________

nutrattler · Guest Joined: 21 Oct 2005 Posts: 4

Thanks everyone for your ideas and support. Our red-eared is doing much better. He is almost back to his usual spritely self. I think the raise in water temp definitely helped him out. He is still coughing however with the frequency not so often. I hope this is a positive sign. If he worsens again we will get him to a vet. It has been difficult trying to track down a reptile expert and it's a long weekend (public holiday) in NZ. We will continue to hunt for reptile vet during week.

dixieee · Posted: Mon Oct 24, 2005 6:41 am Post subject:

i hope he keeps getting better. that's a herp vet in NZ (from stray's links)
Brett Gartrell
Ivabs, Massey University
Private Bag 11222
Palmerston North,
New Zealand

u may want to keep that just in case but hopefully u won't need it at all Smile

_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u

nutrattler · Guest Joined: 21 Oct 2005 Posts: 4

Took my red-eared to a vet with some reptile knowledge and experience yesterday. The vet believes he has blood poisoning given his pinkish looking undershell. This is most likely from an infected bite given by his mate. As for the coughing.... not sure what this shows .... we have been asked to keep an eye on him for the next few days. He was given a calcium booster and is on antibiotics for next 10 days. We have also tested water for pH and nitrate levels - both ok.

I read on the net that pneumonia/RI can be determined by x-raying. Is this correct? Our vet said that it would be difficult to tell so did not go with this option.

nutrattler · Guest Joined: 21 Oct 2005 Posts: 4

Thanks dixieee for the Palmerston North link. I found Brett's name during weekend. He is a fair distance from us so will contact him if we get stuck for a local expert.

dixieee · Posted: Wed Oct 26, 2005 6:56 am Post subject:

oh ok that vet seems to have enough knowledge to know blood poisoning. i'm not sure if they could get it from a bite though but it's ok i hope the little guy gets well so soon. btw, u can tell when a turtle has RI very easily so i don't think x-ray is needed cz there are many obvious determinants of it and since the vet found out it's septicemia, ur turtle's behavior is clear now. it's a bit confusing bcz the signs of both diseases are very similar http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medinjuries.htm#Septicemia

hope he gets well soon. keep us posted
_________________
Wed 10/27/2004 is the worst day..i lost my best friend Leo

so now i have a female RES, Green, and a cute stupid male YBS, Mint

5/4/2006 RIP Lemon, u were my first rescue and i'm so proud of u. will never 4get u