All Turtles Message Board

Jacobp · Guest Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 2

My turtle, who is just 5 months old, quit eating yesterday, and he's being quite lethargic. We went to petsmart to buy him some reptogaurd healthy turtle things. We asked a veterinarian what might be wrong and she said that he might want something to chase like a fish or something. We bought him five red rose minnows for his dining. He hasn't eaten any of them after 2 hours. WHAT'S WRONG??!! Question

Fred_and_George · Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 6:13 pm Post subject:

are there any other syptoms? such as gasping for air, basking more than normal, floating when swimming, squeaking/clicking sounds, or sleeping a lot? Sudden lethargy and loss of appetite can be a sign of a respiratory infection, but maybe the little guy is just stressed. if there are no other symptoms, i would watch to make sure more dont develop, but keep offering foods, lettuce floating on the water, his normal food etc. and dont handle him any more than you need too, this will just stress him out more, you could even raise the temps of his basking area and water a bit.
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Jacobp · Guest Joined: 02 Jan 2007 Posts: 2

well, he is gasping for air and he's not swimming quite as much as he used to. We do not have a lamp for him to bask because we thought that it just heated the water and we got a heater to replace a lamp. Now we have put him in the sunlight, should we get a basking lamp?

Fred_and_George · Posted: Tue Jan 02, 2007 7:30 pm Post subject:

turtles (as well as most other reptiles) need a source of uva/uvb light. outside will do it, but a basking light that has uva rays over the basking area, and a uvb light over the water will do fine.

if he is gasping, then he probably has RI (a respiratory infection) and needs to see a vet. you need to find a qualified herp vet (or exotic pets) that knows about turtles and take them there. if you cant find a vet that does turtles, i would buy a heat lamp asap and up the temps of your tank to try to stimulate the immune system. pedialyte in some water will make a good soaking solution for your turtle, put him in there for about half an hour a day, and make sure the wate is the same temp as that in the tank. this is only if you cant find a vet.

if you do go to a vet, they will give you instruction as to what to do. follow thier directions exactly. one of my turtles has survived ri twice and is doing fine now and eating/growing normally. good luck
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turtlegal_753 · Level 2 Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 44

yes my little turt has a RI infection and we took him to the vet today and they gave her some meds and already i see good results. also they mentioned something about the light. try to at least get a blue or red light and turn that on night(day if you wish) also make sure that you get them to the vet RIGHT away. if your little turt does have RI then they have very little change of living. escpetially at that age. sorry i had to tell you such sad news but it is the truth Crying or Very sad

Fred_and_George · Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 11:08 am Post subject:

they have a small chance, yes, especially if they are younger (smaller) but with lots of care and plenty of stress free time to heal, they have a better chance of getting better. when george was sick the first time, the vet said he had a very little chance because he was so small.

a sick turtle is NOT a dead turtle. advice to everyone: dont give up on your pet, they can live long happy healthy lives after getting over illnesses.
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turtlegal_753 · Level 2 Joined: 11 Dec 2006 Posts: 44

thanks. i posted this on my other bourd that now squirt is eating! YEA and she's swimming and being really active, so hopefully she will get some more fat on her ecause this is the first time she has ate in like a month

Fred_and_George · Posted: Sun Jan 14, 2007 5:11 pm Post subject:

eating is definately a good sign. yay squirt! ps. dont feed her too much because you are glad she is eating, feed her normally or she will get too fat and her shell might start to pyramid. dont overdo it!
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Turday · Level 2 Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 97

pedialyte ?!? like the one children drink when there sick?
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Aug 29 2006

lmrh · Level 2 Joined: 17 Nov 2006 Posts: 37 Location: Ireland

amm dat happened to my 2 baby turts and i found out dat my water temp wasnt high enough! jst a suggestion to check it!!
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