Urgent Care :: Constant eye blinking and Constipation

[steve]

Without knowing what's really going on, I wouldn't use the Bene Bac. You can use it within their guidelines (and you'd want to consult with your vet) if you wish to. For now, I would simplify his diet and keep a close eye on his stools.

[oriracoonrella]

Ok. Do you think his diet now is alright for his situation? Lettuce, cucumber, papaya, sweet potato, blueberry and a very small amount of pellets daily.
It's mainly the lettuce leaves, others are in small amounts.

[steve]

I would limit it to pellets, just to observe what's going on. Cucumbers are mostly water and I'm not sure about papaya.

[oriracoonrella]

He is pooping fine, I hope he is. We caught him poop yesterday and today, round, firm, dark stools. But it seems like there's undigested plant fibres in there, hmm.

There are thin floating membranes in his water for 3 days or so that I've noticed (we change his water daily), that looks like very thin shedded skin... could they be his.. ejaculation? I also notice he seems to do some shoulder 'shrugging' actions accompanied by some movements of his tail =/

Otherwise, I rarely see him click his mouth anymore. He was acting a bit weird today submerging his head underwater and clawing at the wall and floor for quite some time... I would've expected the blinking to reoccur but it didn't.

[steve]

If he's getting a lot of veggies, his poop will be like that. It makes a greater mess in the tank though. You are probably seeing skin. His ejaculation would be gooey and dissipate fairly quickly.

[oriracoonrella]

It's his skin alright. I just saw him shedding a lot on his hind legs.

This is him, I'm still kind of worried because he seems to look a little swollen. I've always thought it's his weight but I only found out now that swellings might be water retention that signifies more serious problems Maybe the blinking was a symptom of water retention in the eyes Does he look normal to you? When I tip him downwards his 'fats' goes down to the lowest point. His 'swelling' is not sudden though.



And his leg area...



This is my female turtle. She used to be malnutritioned before our vet introduced us Mazuri pellets. We've been feeding them both the same amount but my male turt just seems to grow more and more because I guess the poop he eats contributes to his overall food intake

[steve]

Has he had swelling issues before? Their eyes look OK, is the swelling the only current symptom?

[oriracoonrella]

Currently?.. I saw him gaping again open mouthed three days ago. The eye problems and clicking seemed to have gone away.

So this is considered swelling? I couldn't tell, I thought he was just pudgy all along... Even the vet couldn't tell he's swelling and said those are skin folds. But he does look more swollen in water than on land. I really hope he will be okay.. really want him to be okay..

[oriracoonrella]

He was behaving weirdly clawing and submerging in the water again and his blinking returned a bit... This was what he looked like when he blinked

[steve]

The turtle does look a little swollen but could also be a little overweight. If this was a sudden change, then I would look into it more.

[oriracoonrella]

Okay.. It's serious diet and workout time then. I've made diapers for him. Hope they work out well so he won't be able to eat his stools.

[steve]

Considering everything that's happened, I'd keep a very close eye on him and other symptoms.

[oriracoonrella]

Ok... do you think using a water conditioner is a good idea? I've tried it before but seeing how little water is used I thought the water conditioner could be too strong so I stopped. I'd like to see if the problems are related to water quality. If so, what are some good water conditioner brands?

[steve]

It's better and safer to use activated carbon to condition water rather than any liquid you add to the water.