Urgent Care :: wheezing sounds/spots on the carapace

[solstis]

It is 6 cm long. I think it has hatched 9 months ago, but I'm not sure. I've had it for 6 months. The temperature is about 20 degrees C. There is no thermometer. For heating, we're using the flat's central heating system. The vehicle which is inhabited by the turtle is 200 ml. There is no filtration, but the water is renewed every day.

The basking temperature is 23 degrees. There is no lamp. There is no platform. At the moment, basking is done by removing the water and leaving the turtle dry. There is no uvb light.

He's eating frozen(defrosted before feeding, of course) coctail shrimps, boiled pork meat, fish, boiled eggs from time to time, some fruit and vegetables (although he rarely touches them). Apart from that we're putting REPTIVITE (reptile vitamins with d3). The turtle has normal apetite and he's eating every day.

The tank is 20x14x7. It's actually a plastic box. It's close to a window. The room is full of activity, yes.

I haven't read the basic care section. I haven't searched the forums for anything similar.

The problem:

It all started three days ago when I noticed that his eyes were swollen and closed. We increased the temperature of the water. I bought him REPTIVITE vitamins. Two days later the eyes were better and he keeps them open. However, today I heard him making wheezing/whistling noises. He makes them from time to time.

Also, I'm not very sure about these black spots on the shell. I can't say when did they appear. Are they something bad?

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Please help!

[coreyvht]

the black spots are probably from shedding...as for the wheezing it may be RI does he swim lopsided or does he float ..does he bask most of the day

[blackforces get you]

the wheezing probably might be an RI. take it to a vet to be sure

the black spots are growth. the round spots that are black is what your talking about should be growth.

[Moose]

your turtle has a beautiful shell with alot of growth but if you see lopsided swiming or any bubbles coming out that is definetly and RI

[solstis]

thank you all for the help!

one more thing, do you think that his eyes are still swollen?

[Moose]

can i get a side pic of your turtle pls? cuz it does still look a lil swollen but im not absolutely 100

[solstis]

I'll provide a picture of the turtle soon.

I have changed his environment quite a lot since I posted the thread. You can see pictures of his aqua-terarium here -> http://picasaweb.google.com/solstis/Oliver#

The changed conditions:

The water temperature now is 28 degrees Celsius. We are using a thermometer and a heater, you can see them on the pictures. The water in the tank is 3.5 l. We are not using a conditioner or filtration.

We are not sure about the basking temperature. There is a basking lamp which is NOT with UV lightning. Also, his platform is convenient. It's a rock, you can see it on the pictures.

We are feeding him boiled veal, pork, chicken, shrimps, boiled eggs and pellets. We are using the same vitamins. The turtle ate today, his appetite is normal.

The tank is 30x22x13 cm. It's not close to a window, but it is sunny in the room.

One more thing is bothering me. The first couple of days after he moved into his new home he climbed on the big rock with no difficulty (the water level was just about the needed in order for him to climb easily). He was swimming quite actively. However, on the third day he hardly moves - he's like floating in the water or standing on the bottom in his shell. His eyes are closed most of the time, like he's sleeping.

I'm feeding him in a smaller tank. When he's eating, he is very energetic and behaves normally. His appetite is okay.

What do you think?

[steve]

It's great that he has an appetite. Are his eyes still swollen?

[solstis]

Yes. I actually noticed now that the right one is slightly more swollen than the left one. See here -> http://picasaweb.google.com/solstis/Oliver#

Do you think it's possible that something is leaking something unpleasant in the water ?

[solstis]

We decided to take all the stuff out of the tank, leaving only the turtle. The water is being heated by the lamp. We put 1 cm boiled water, so that the turtle can have its head over the water just by stretching its neck. The result is that the turtle is more active and with opened, less-swollen eyes.

Photos can be found at the well known place -> http://picasaweb.google.com/solstis/Oli ... 0131071394
(and the next 3)

What do you think?

[steve]

It doesn't seem swollen in those pictures. If there was something in the water that was irritating him, then you might be see him rubbing his eyes. You might want to try a water conditioner/de-chlorinator if you suspect that to be a problem.