All Turtles Message Board

D · Guest Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 4

Hi, I am a new turlte owner. I have two baby red ear sliders that I got for my birthday about a month ago. They are Carlitos and Mafalda (I actually think they both may be boys but I am not sure yet). At the moment I have them in a 10 gallon tank with a submergible heater (I keep the water at 80-82 degrees), a filter, and a basking light. I have the tank about half full of water, have the bottom covered with pebbles, and have a log that sticks out of the water so that my turtles may rest on it.

Carlitos has just started to grow and is very active, but Mafalda stopped eating about two days ago and now spends most of the time resting on the log either partially or fully out of the water. I have tried giving him their ususal food pellets, dried shrimp, and even tuna, but he won't eat at all!

Does anyone have any advice for me? Thanks!

dixieee · Posted: Sun Oct 29, 2006 1:27 pm Post subject:

welcome to the board Smile

what are the sizes of those pebbles? are they smaller than the turtles' heads?
raise the temps till the high 80's, it's better for babies and will boost their immunity. keep watching him for signs like swollen eyes, swimming lop-sided, soft shell, gasping..
_________________
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

D · Guest Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 4

Thank you for the quick response. The pebbles vary in size, but yeah on average they are a bit smaller than their heads. As for the other symptoms, the shell and eyes are normal, but I have noticed that the swimming is a bit lop-sided. Would that mean that Mafalda eat a pebble?!

therea · Level 3 Joined: 14 Sep 2006 Posts: 131 Location: England

They could well have eaten the pebbles, yes. My advice would be to get rid of them and replace them with much larger stones, or better yet, nothing at all! Looks boring unless you buy plants, etc to spruce it up a bit.
Also the leaning to one side thing could well be the sign of a respiratory infection.
If I were you, I'd take my little one to a vet asap!!!!
_________________
Have a nice day, and remember to smile and be nice to all!

dixieee · Posted: Mon Oct 30, 2006 11:28 am Post subject:

yeah better take out the pebbles and increase the temps. although i don't think it's a pebble problem but watch his excretion also..
_________________
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

D · Guest Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 4

Thank you for the advice.

Today I bought bigger rocks and got rid of the pebbles. I noticed one thing: to change the rocks I put my turtles in a baking sheet along with the log I have in the aquarium. Mafalda was running all over the place! I have not seen him so active in a while. Once I had changed the water and the rocks I put Carlitos and Mafalda back in their home and Mafalda went back to on top of the log and has not really moved since...

Oh, I also increased the temp a bit.

D · Guest Joined: 29 Oct 2006 Posts: 4

My poor turlte is not doing well, his shell is not a bit slimy and he's starting to gasp for air (I think - he's stretching his neck and openning his mouth a lot). Unfortunately there are no vets near by that deal with reptiles..and the animal hospital is too expensive for me at the moment ($100 just for the consultation!!).

I am wondering if there is anything I can do to make him comfortable?

Thank you for all your help,

D

Fred_and_George · Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2006 5:57 pm Post subject:

up hte heat of his basking area. if you cant get him to a vet, you need to make him warmer to boost his immune system to maybe help him fight it off himself. this is basically all you can do. i went out and bought a heat lamp.it is basically a red light that i leave on at night, it emmits heat and, because it is red, it doesnt disrrupt their sleeping patterns. i just put mine over the basking area. you may find, at night, that he sleeps under the heat lamp. this is fine. mine did too, and sometimes still does whenever i leave the light on cuz i dont want them to get cold at night. but if an opportunity does come up for you to see a vet to help him, i would take it in a heartbeat if i were you. still offer your little guy food. when i took mine to the vet, they gave me a syringe to force-feed him with, to get some nutrients into him. it was just liquid stuff. dont fuss with him. more stress will make it harder on him, and less likely that he will recover, just let him bask and touch him only when you absolutely have to (i.e. to feed him or give him meds, should you ever get the vet chance) thats all i can think of, good luck! i hope he gets better. i know from experience how awful it can be when they get sick.

dixieee · Posted: Fri Nov 03, 2006 3:33 am Post subject:

i'm so sorry..i really wish there was a way to help. is he gasping a lot? like is it repetitive? do u know if there are any pet pharmacies around or if u can get a medicine from the hospital?
_________________
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

donnam · Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 4:17 pm Post subject: pebbles in tank

Hi Im new on the site although i have been watching it for a while now, and have gotten alot of good advice, have 2 res Earl and Randi for about a year now, found out earl is a girl, it's been real interesting :

donnam · Posted: Thu Nov 16, 2006 4:26 pm Post subject:

To D
I hope your turtle is ok, when mine was sick the vet told me it was a respitory infect, and gave them baytril which is 50% baytril and 50%sterile water solution, and you have to give a shot in the leg for 7 days, was'nt easy but i did and they're fine now. wasn't cheap either, but they don't usually survive resp infec without a trip to the vet. good luck Smile