I have a female RES who is about 8-9 years old, named Mikey. I've had her since she was a baby, and she has never been sick before. When she was 2-4 I had her in Boston, and for half of that time I lived in a place that didn't have adequate heating, so it was obviously very cold and she appeared to brumate during this time. I know her tank water was definitely not within the recommended "tropic" range, but she never became sick.
Since she's full-grown now and I have a place with room outside, I put in a pond 5 months ago (a bit more than 125 gallons, with a large basking area, dirt, gravel, grass, and a baby palm plant, all fenced in my yard for her. There are about 10 comets at any given time in there and water hyacinths, with a dual waterfall filter and pond pump to circulate water. She seemed to like to pond at first, but didn't know how to come out of the water to bask (I have a ramp leading up). My neighbor had 2 healthy RES around the same age as mine (assumed one female, one male, although judging by the claws they both look female to me), and were going to give them to a turtle rescue but I said I'd take them in and see how they do. I've had all three turtles in the pond for 2 months and I was happy to see them all getting along, with the more adventurous of the new turtles showing mine how to get up to the basking area.
Everything was good, until I came home 2 nights ago and noticed my Mikey upside-down in the pond. I immediately grabbed her and brought her inside to the sink, running warm water over her. I swear, I thought she was dead she was so limp. It was scary. However, she revived quickly but was breathing funny (no bubbles, no open mouth gasping, just a sort of "lunging" breathing movement), so I took her to the emergency vet as it was 1 AM. There was no turtle vet in but they gave her good care, warm fluids, antibiotics, all in an oxygen tank so she could breath better, since we suspected fluids in her lung(s). I dry-docked her in my room with a heat lamp in a rubbermaid, towel and shelter on one side for comfort. I'm giving her half an hour warm baths twice a day, and she has her appetite back - spoiled with tuna, but it's something, and it's how I got her to take her crushed-up antibiotic meds. I put her free in my room with a baby gate to make sure she doesn't get out, and she's been extremely active, which is a great sign. Sometimes, her breathing seems a bit stressed, so I don't want to put her in the pond again yet.
Please, some questions, since I've never had a sick turtle before...
-Could it be because the water is too cold? I live in Southern California and the nights have been about 55 - 60 degrees lately. As a precaution I bought a 350 watt submersible heater designed to heat up to 260 gallons.
-How long will it take the heater to raise the temp of the water?
-The other two turtles are completely fine. Could they have contributed to Mikey getting sick, and how could I fix this? Her weight at the vet was 1.06 kg (she's about 8-9 inches long), and she did not seem underweight by looking at her. However, what if the other turtles are eating more than her?
-I put algae killer in the pond about a day before I found her upside down. Could this have made it happen? It was a different brand than I usually use.
-How long should I wait until putting Mikey back in the pond? I'm sure she misses swimming around and chasing fish like a regular turtle.
Holy junk, that was long. Well... if someone could help, that would be awesome. Thanks!
Mikey kickin' it in her old tank
