Urgent Care :: Turtle Sick?

[astaccz]

Hi everyone. I have a male red ear slider and he seems to be sick. I started noticing when he would not eat now, hardly goes in the water, and he just basks and sleeps. I also noticed that his skin behind his legs (in his shell, and between his toes (hind legs) are pinkish. This is weird to me and I know something must be up. Also his eyes look kind of swollen and when I try to see if hes awake one eyelid opens but the other is closed and looks real puffy. I do not have enough money for him to see a vet and I do not want to sit and let him suffer so I am prepared to go tommorrow to give him to the pet store or the ASPCA place where he will be in better care. I also have another female smaller and she is not sick. I make sure to watch their behavior. I will put the link to the photos to take a look. The pinkish colored skin is hard to see but it is there. Thanks for all for helping. I want this guy to get the help he deserves.

http://www.photobucket.com/astacczturtle

[richieboy]

Be sure to have the turtles separated. Sometimes it's for the best to have just one turtle especially for those of who don't have the ability to go through vet treatments. I wish your little guy the best of luck.

[steve]

HI Astaccz, the first thing I noticed is that one of your turtles (the one in pic 1-3) has shell fungus, which can spread to the other turtles. A little pinkish tinge, around where the skin meets the shell and around the webbing of the feet is not unusual for older turtles. I would also remove gravel and make sure that the habitat conditions are correct.

[astaccz]

Thank you both for answering. I've been watching the turtle that I suspected was sick and things turnt for the better. He's swimming now and eating again I don't know what made him act the way he did. Thanks also for clarifying the pinkish color Steve. I did not know this about older turtles. And really my female has shell fungus? How can you tell? Is it the because the shell is kind of whitish? That's how her shell looked when I got her from pet store. As for the I i was thinking of taking it out because the female digs and tries to eat the little small rocks towards the bottom of tank.

[steve]

I've seen a lot of cases over the last few years and both my turtles are dealing with it now. Definitely remove the gravel.