Urgent Care :: A bit worried about my turtle

[devilduck]

The the wispy white stuff maybe just shedding skin. It should be okay.

[TurtleMommaTX]

A picture would help but he could be just shedding. The first time mine did that I worried then realized it was happening all around the shell and the new scale underneath was healthy. If he's growing then shedding is a good sign... Making more room for themselves.

[tonghua90]

Oh.. Yeah it was his skin shedding.. He seemed to get almost completely better, even grew a little bit...
But I had to go to another province for 4 days during Chinese new year (it would have been longer but I was worried about Terry) and because the place I was staying at had no heating and was freezing I didn't take him with me, so just before I left I changed and filtered his water, put some extra food in the tank - green stuff and some tiny prawns - and hoped he'd be OK while I was gone.
However, since I've been back his respiratory infection's come back with a vengeance and he's got his eyes shut all the time and they're kind of swollen. He's not squeaking, just struggling to breathe with his mouth open and won't go into the water very much. He seems very weak and I'm trying everything I can.. I think it might be because I couldn't change the water for 4 days whereas I usually change it every day?

[steve]

I would think it wasn't the lack of water changes. Was anyone watching him while you were gone?

[tonghua90]

no... I did ask around before I left but no one was available to take care of him (everyone went back to their hometowns) and I live in a dormitory... we usually have one roommate but mine moved back to Belgium last month. *sigh =[
He seems to be recovering now... kind of... but his eyes are permanently closed even when he swims and skin's shedding again and he's not eating. He also seems to be scratching his head a lot?? it's caused his head to have white marks on the top when it's dry. Thank you for responding and advising me.

[steve]

Without being able to see, they usually won't eat. I'd try to get him some direct sun exposure, be careful with the UVB (perhaps shut it off for the time being) and make sure the water is clean. Cod liver oil (applied to the eyes) might help if there is a vitamin deficiency.

[tonghua90]

OK, thank you! I'll try and get some cod liver oil from the pharmacy shop nearby. I'll put him close to the window too... I'm just worried that it's too cold there - it's been snowing recently. I'll let you know how he gets on!~

[penelope]

since I've been back his respiratory infection's come back with a vengeance

He needs to go to be seen by a vet. That is really the only answer.
Apologies if it sounds harsh, but if he was showing signs in December, then odds are it has been there all along and is not going to get better without vet care and antibiotics. An RI, once it sets in, does not heal itself.

Taking into consideration his off-sided swimming, squeaking, etc. it is something to be very concerned with, and in my opinion is much higher in priority than shedding, UVB lights, water condition and eye problems.

With that said, putting him near a cold window is not a good idea. He needs warmth - 80 Fahrenheit at minimum.

Turning off the UVB is to give his eyes a break while the bulb goes through a burn period. He will be OK without a UVB light, but he cannot be put in / near cold.

Wispy shedding skin is typically due to either water that is too warm or poor water quality.

[tonghua90]

To Penelope
I would love to take him to a vet... however, there's a language barrier and no vets nearby. I don't even know if there are any vets here, neither do the people I've asked that live here. I mentioned earlier I'm a student in China with not much money and in a bit of debt, so I'm doing everything I can that's also not going to cost too much. In the end, I didn't put him near the window because the pollution became reaally bad and there was no sun. Our dorm room is high up and seems to get really warm when the window's shut and I regularly change his water (using a filter) and keep it at the temperature all the websites say. I don't use the UVB as much as before to help his eyes.

I did the advice I was given on here to help him as much as I can. When I bought him last year it was actually for a friend as a goodbye present before I went back to my country. That friend didn't look after him very well at all so when I came back to study here 6 months later I took him back. This is the first RES I've looked after so I wasn't aware of the signs and thought he was fine for a while when it appears he wasn't (e.g. when he first squeaked I thought it was cute before looking up on the internet and realising it was a problem and asking on here)

Sorry to sound defensive, but I'm honestly doing what I can and feel that what you said was a little harsh and made me feel like you're suggesting I'm not doing what I can - maybe I took it a little out of context, so I apologise if I did.

Thank you for your advice. I will continue to do what I can.

[tonghua90]

A little update. I have searched some more for vet places and the only one nearby doesn't accept any animal other than cats or dogs. The other closest one is roughly/more than 2 hours away and I have no time to get that far.

Again thank you for the suggestion.

[steve]

Thanks for the update. How's the turtle doing?

[tonghua90]

Honestly, I don't know, I don't think it's very good. He's not swimming much, staying on the dry part for most of the day, and sleeping. Sometimes he goes into the water and swims around with his eyes shut and then goes back up. Hasn't eaten in ages When he's dry I can see a little white mark on his nose where he seems to scratch himself. I did go into the pharmacy to find cod liver oil but didn't find any in that one. When I get some time from my lessons I'm planning on going to another pharmacy further away. On the plus side he hasn't squeaked recently.

[steve]

Try giving her a soak in diluted Pedialyte... maybe they will have something similar. It's given to children when they have diarrhea. Cod liver oil might be found in health food stores or large supermarkets.

[tonghua90]

OK, I'll have a look at the supermarket too. I've not heard of Pedialyte.. I'll have a look for that too.
I have some really good news. I started teaching a new student today (I also teach English while I'm here) and they just happen to have a couple of healthy RES and know someone who has 6. They asked their friend about Terry's condition and they gave me some medicine they used for their turtle for Terry's eyes. They'll also give me some antibiotics they have left over for their RES hopefully next week. I'm gonna search for the translation for Pedialyte and ask around too.
Thank you