Urgent Care :: Help! My girl hasn't eaten for 1 week!

[bryansnp]

Help! My girl is 19 years old and she hasn't eaten for a week.

Last week she started bleeding in her cloaca and we brought her to the herp the next day. She has a cyst or ear abscess on the right side of her neck and the herp confirmed that the blood came from her intestines.

She was given some baytril (jab) and metronidazole (to be given through the cloaca). She stopped bleeding after two days but she hasn't been eating ever since. She looks active whenever we take her out but tends to become listless after the daily jabs.

We have been soaking her in lukewarm water (around 35 degrees celsius) for around 30 minutes everyday. We tried giving her fresh shrimps (her favourite) but she doesn't respond to them at all. She'll just close her eyes and ignore the food or she'll brush them away. She has always been greedy and will gobble down her food. Now she's not eating and that's worrying me. I have tried filling her tank with V8 vegetable juice upon the herp's advice hoping that she'll be interested in liquid food. But I don't know if she's drinking any of those.

We gave her an x-ray and there's definitely no signs of eggs stuck in her. The herp said it could be an abscess or tumour in her intestines. We are very worried and she's part of the family. I'll be bringing her down to the herp again tomorrow. Please let me know what else can I do for my girl. I feel like crying..

How big is your turtle? around 10 inches
How long have you had it? 19 years

What is the water temperature? approx 26 degrees celsius
Did you use a thermometer? no
Are you using a water heater? no, we live in the tropics
How much water is in there? not sure, but she lives in a huge container with almost 1/3 filled with water
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? no but we change her water everyday

What is the basking temperature? around 33 degrees celsius
Is there a basking light? no, we gave her natural sunlight as we live in the tropics
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? its made of plastic which we improvised to make it a place for her to dry dock
Is there a UVB light? no

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets, fresh fish and shrimps, carrots and V8 juice
When was the last time your turtle ate? exactly 1 week ago. she did eat some shrimps around 4 days ago but regurgitated them out after a few hours

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? im not too sure about the volume but its around 20 odd litres
Is the tank near a window? yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? she tends to twitch her head sometimes when we drydock her

[megcornell]

Bringing her to the vet was the best choice you could make.
Turtles tend to make pretty slow recover-ers, their metabolisms are rather slow so it takes time for them to "process" those antibiotics and start feeling better. On a side note, baytril can suppress appetite so that's likely why she isn't feeling like eating.

Also, your tank is MUCH too small. 5 gallons for a 10 inch turtle is actually pretty unbelievable. If you reported that right you're lucky she's survived so long. A turtle her size needs about 100g, but frankly even 50 or 60 would be a marked improvement. I don't even see how she can move in a 5 gal tank let alone swim and maintain a healthy lifestyle.

[marisa]

Welcome. If she stopped eating shortly after you administered the Baytril, it's likely the medication that's caused the loss of appetite. She should resume eating when she's off the meds.

To get some electrolytes, etc. in her when she drinks, you might put her in a 50/50 mix of plain Pedialyte and water rather than water alone.

Good luck at the next vet visit. Hope the source of the problem can be identified.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I would recommend discontinuing the 35 degree warm water soaks that you are doing. You can try purchasing a water heater and bumping the temps up to the high 26 C or low 27 C range, but if your water temps are already naturally 26 degrees you are already a tad too warm for normal living and in the sick turtle temperature range. The 35 C soaks may end up doing more harm than good because that is really really warm water for a turtle.

Also, you can try feeding her the stinky tuna from a can or pouch and see if that entices her to eat.