Hi I noticed the water in my slider's tank today was red and I thought it might be blood in her poop. I have looked up potential conditions and ruled out prolapse as her cloaca looks completely normal. She seems fine, is not exhibiting any unusual behavior or other symptoms. I cleaned the tank immediately and noticed that a lot of the red material was stuck in the water and her filter is not working (will be purchasing a new one tomorrow), which I thought that the filter not working could be part of the issue. I have a very small set up and am trying to earn money for a larger tank that she needs and deserves but for right now I don't have the money for a bigger tank. I am wondering if her slightly cramped conditions could be affecting her health. I am also not sure if she is getting adequate nutrition. I give regular pellets (2ish a day) which she seems to like a lot but she has always turned her nose up at fruits and vegetables, although she loves cricket pieces and brine shrimp. I do not have a heater for the tank but it is a small-ish tank and is easily heated by her basking lamp. She is about two years old, and my best estimate would be about 4 inches but I could easily be off by an inch as I do not have a ruler. She does have a basking platform that she spends adequate time on, but there is no place for her to nest. (Maybe she is having egg-related health problems?) The tank is not near a window, and she is alone in the tank (I am also saving up to get her a friend). I also only put substrate in her tank that is too large for her to swallow, I even go through each rock individually before putting into the tank so that is not it.
The only other similar issue I could find on these forums was someone who believed the red was probably from biting due to several turtles being in the tank together. I intend to monitor her closely over the next few days to make sure there is no more red in the tank, but I would like to know what could potentially be wrong? I don't have the money to take her to the vet and it will be a long time before I could afford that so if she absolutely has to go to the vet I will have to give her away to someone who can afford to take care of her so I would like to know if there is anything I can do to care for her on my own.
