All Turtles Message Board

Rennifer · Posted: Sat Apr 28, 2007 5:30 pm Post subject: Baby RES lethargic

My baby RES used to be very active when I first got her but for the past couple weeks all she's done is bask and sleep. The only time she's even in the water is when she's resting on part of the ramp so she's partially in and partially out. She's got a pretty good setup right now and plants to hide in but she'd rather hide under the floating basking dock and stick her head out of the water and just sit there than go down and hide in the plants. She also seems to have trouble submerging, her rear end always sticks up and floats. I'm not sure if that's just her being lazy and not using her back legs or if there's something actually wrong with her. I know she's a baby and she's going to sleep a lot, but I never thought it'd be all the time.

Also, whenever she swims around her neck is puffed out. I'm not sure whether this is a normal turtle behavior or not seeing as this is my first turtle. She's also been shedding, especially around her mouth and neck, for about 3 weeks now.

I've heard many different things for water temperature, but I'm pretty sure it should be close to around 80 for a baby, right?

I'd be happy to supply pictures of her if necesary for diagnosis or whatever Smile

But yeah I'm just real worried about her because she's my first turtle and I have a sort of over protective mother thing goin' on right now. Please help this worry wort out Sad

Linzlou83 · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 11:47 am Post subject:

Contrary to mammal behavior, baby turtles don't sleep a whole lot (more than adults anyway). In the wild, the smaller they are, the more alert and defensive they need to be, so all the hatchlings/young turtles I've seen are usually the most active and constantly on the go.

From what you mentioned about not being able to submerge and basking constantly, I'm thinking it may be a respiratory infection or a type of cold. Any other symptoms? Nasal noises, blowing bubbles, not eating? The shedding is normal, but not for 3 weeks straight, so it's possible that her symptoms are part of a vitamin deficiency or water quality.

You may want to get her checked out by a vet who has experience with turtles just to be sure. Antibiotics may be needed if it is a respiratory infection or cold. I don't want to jump to conclusions and say that you're turtle is sick, but if her behavior has changed and she's more lethargic than usual, then it's probable that something is wrong.

Unfortunately, it's not uncommon for a baby turtle to get sick, no matter how hard we try to duplicate a perfect environment. 80 degrees is a good temp for a sick turtle. I heard that actually putting your turtle out in the sun for an hour a day when the weather is warm (70+ degrees) will do wonders if the turtle is not feeling well. Fill a tupperware that she can't climb out of with luke warm water so that it barely covers the shell and put her on a porch or patio where she'll be safe. Check frequently to make sure she's not too hot and the water stays clean.

My vet mentioned that there are rays in the sun that can't be duplicated by UVA/UVB lights and there's really no substitute for natural light. Hopefully, if she stays warm, clean, and fed with vitamin rich foods you'll see some improvement. It's soo hard to deal with a sick baby and I can understand your frustration/sadness.

Good luck!

Rennifer · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 12:24 pm Post subject:

She eats fine, no nasal noises or blowing bubbles. I don't know if I have the money for a turtle specialist right now, but what I will do is try and make her water warmer, try and take her out in the sun, and see if there's any good vitamin stuff for turtles I can get her. She's been lethargic for a while so I think if it were a respiratory infection she'd have died by now Sad

But I've always been paying close attention to how she breathes because I've always been worried about her getting a respiratory infection. She gets active when she's in her feeding container but I think its mostly her freaking out looking for a place to hide or rest. I think she might have a slight case of pyramiding but I'm not sure, so I have to look into that too. Thanks for the advice Smile

Linzlou83 · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:02 pm Post subject:

Oh, I hear you about the $$ thing. I was surprised though, my vet charged me $80 each time I went. I had to go twice. I thought it was going to be more.

Also, everyone says how important it is to see a vet for everything, but a lot of times they'll only tell you the things you've already heard about on here or other sites - water temp and quality, good food and vitamins, proper light, low stress, etc. And unfortunately lethargy is a hard problem to diagnose, as without other symptoms it could a bunch of things and even a vet may find it difficult. Maybe someone else will disagree, but that is just from my experience.

She's eating and breathing ok, so maybe a few environmental changes will be enough to bring her back to her happy, healthy self. Keep an eye out if she starts to get worse.

Keep us updated!
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I brake for turtles!

Rennifer · Posted: Mon Apr 30, 2007 1:59 pm Post subject:

I think one of the problems is I might be overfeeding her a smidge so I cut back on the food a little. I'm also gonna try and get some more vitamins into her diet Smile

I'm getting a new heater for her tank today to try and warm the water up a bit cause she seems to like it better when its around 80-85 rather than 75. I took her out in the sun and she seemed to like it. So I'm hoping with warmer water, a little less food, some vitamins, and her getting used to her new tank that she'll improve. She also does this thing with her neck where she like puffs it out and then back in like she's breathing, but she can breathe without doing that too. I don't know if its a normal thing or not, but it kind reminds me of like how frogs do it.

And thanks for all your help, you've been wonderful!

Rennifer · Posted: Fri May 04, 2007 12:46 am Post subject:

Update on her health: She seems to love the warm water! I tried giving her some vegetables but she didn't take too kindly to them. She seems to slowly but surely be getting a little better, she dived down today. However she also has a white spot on her head now so I'm doing research on turtle skin fungus. If she does have skin fungus it would explain why she was basking so much.

Any ideas/comments are welcomed and appreciated!