Urgent Care :: air bubbles?

[xjaz624]

i looked over at my turtle, and she was making these weird movements... she stuck her neck out (under water) and its like she sneezed? or burped? idk it was really weird, cuz she has never done this before...and then she was walking backwards and scratching her tail..

if u guys have any idea on whats going on, please let me know asap..

i dont want to lose her...

[SpotsMama]

Is she still acting odd?

[xjaz624]

yea she still kinda is, my mom says that this morning there was some white stuff coming out of her mouth... idk if i should put the water temp higher?
shes barely moving around...and i know this isnt a respiratoy infection cuz i was given two little turtles a while back that had this infection...this was like 1yr ago...
but yea she is still acting the same way, i hope shes just acting like this because of the cold weather, and its nothing i should worry about..

[SpotsMama]

Any of the following:

Lethargy (you've already answered "yes" to this one)
Swollen or irritated eyes
Poor appetite
Yawning a lot or breathing with her mouth open

Any gravel in the tank?

Can you describe her diet - what does she eat when she's eating normally and how much and how often.

Is she pooping normally? She sort of sounds like she might be constipated or impacted.

Treat her like a sick turtle - keep water temps at around 82 degrees fahrenheit, keep her water very clean, avoid stress (ie, don't pick her up unless you have to), keep her eating (give her treats like a little tuna or shrimp if she refuses her normal pellets).

Go ahead and answer all the questions on the sticky at the top of the Urgent Care section to give us a better idea of what's going on.

[xjaz624]

Any of the following:


Swollen or irritated eyes? yes
Poor appetite?yes but she usually eats less during cold weather
Yawning a lot or breathing with her mouth open?i havent seen any yawning.. she has been releasing water from her mouth, shes usually does this when shes ''smelling'' or ''tasting'' the food underwater..but now shes doing it more constantly even when theres no food.

Any gravel in the tank? theres no gravel in the tank

Can you describe her diet - what does she eat when she's eating normally and how much and how often?like i said she doesnt eat much during the cold, but recently shes been eating like a couple pellets, i guess u can call it a snack like amount.

Is she pooping normally? She sort of sounds like she might be constipated or impacted.
its funny u mention this because shes not pooped much and when she was releasing the airbubbles underwater she was moving her back legs to her tail like she was trying to push something out..but it was just really weird that she released those big bubbles.. maybe she was just getting mad cuz she couldnt get it out?
is there something i can get her to eat to help her poop?

by the way thanks for helping me out, it means alot.

[xjaz624]

oh and by the way what do u mean by impacted?

[SpotsMama]

Impacted means severly constipated.

Try soaking her in a bowl of water that's warmer than usual - maybe 85 or 87 degrees. NOT hot - be careful not to scald her. If she's impacted this may help her go. If no luck, a vet can prescribe a laxative.

Usually fiber in the diet (veggies and fruit) will prevent constipation but I wouldn't give her a bunch of fiber right now for fear she's completely blocked and if the veggies give her gas it would just make things worse. Maybe someone else on the forum has a different opinion about giving her fiber at this stage of the game.

Swollen eyes is not a symptom of constipation. Get some cod liver oil and put a little on a q tip and dab it on her eyelids a couple of times a day. This will help if the problem has anything to do with a vitamin a deficiency.

One other thing that comes to mind is that she might have a severe internal parasite problem. Has she ever been checked? It's easy for a vet to check a stool sample for parasites and shouldn't cost much. I'd have it done as soon as possible if I were you.

In fact, I'd take her to see a vet anyway. She needs a good herp vet (by the way, it doesn't take a herp vet to examine a stool sample for parasites - I think any vet should be able to do this). She's got a variety of symptoms - kicking with the back legs, releasing air or gas, white stuff coming from her mouth, poor appetite, lethargic, swollen eyes. I think it would be best to get a professional involved.

Good luck. Keep us posted.