Urgent Care :: TURTLE ACTING WEIRD

[Dandelette.]

My turtle havent been acting itself lately. For some reason it doesnt eat, and its always stuck into its shell. Its inside its shell even while basking sometimes, and even underwater.
We got new food lately, its a similar brand. I dont know if its the food, it eats shrimp..but hardly any. Everytime i put food into the tank it used to rush to the food, now it hardly even goes.
What is wrong with it? please help

Its been like this for the past 3-5 days.

[Starchick]

Not eating can be a sign of illness. It was my first clue when Napoleon came down with RI. Do you see him breathing open-mouthed, heaving for breath or yawning? Is there any discharge from the nose, mouth or eyes? How's your water temperature? Are there any other symptoms?

[Dandelette.]

I dont see him breathing above water, but sometimes when i pick him up, he opens his mouth abit. Im not sure if its open mouth breathing, or if he wants to bite me. The temperature is 28Celcius/81 farienhiet. Theres no discharge coming from the nose, mouth OR eyes. Hes just basically not eating and always inside his shell when i pick him up and in the tank.

[SpotsMama]

There are all sorts of possibilities. A very simple one could be water temperature. If the water is too cool they won't eat. If your turtles are little the water temp should be around 78 degrees. You could try raising the water temp if it's too cool right now.

I see you have three turtles. Is the one that isn't eating smaller than the others? Is it possible that it's being intimated by the others? If that's the case, the other two could be removed from the tank while the timid one is eating.

If one of those isn't the problem then your turtle could be ill. Are there any other symptoms like swollen eyes or yawning a lot? Here are some things that cause a turtle to lose his appetite and act lethargic, all of which require a herp vet's assistance to diagnose and cure:

1. Internal parasites
2. Impaction caused by eating gravel
3. Respiratory infection
4. Some other sort of infection

[Dandelette.]

He/She's the biggest turtle in the tank. No he doesnt yawn, from what i saw lately. Theres no swollen eyes either. Theres no gravel inside my tank, so i dont think it might be caused by eating gravel.

Is there anything i could do without checking the vet?

[edit]

I just noticed something else. Every so often, about every 5 seconds, i see my turtle's back legs shake/shiver. I turned up the heater in case its cold. I think that maybe a reason why he's always stuck inside its shell. His legs shake/shiver, then he brings it close to his shell (hide it).

Do you know what might be causing him like that? I turned up the heater already. Last time i checked the heat it was 81Farienthiet/28Celcius. Is that too cold for a turtle? What other reasons there might be for that behavior?

Thanks

[megcornell]

I wouldn't turn the water up any higher than it is now. How large are the turtles? Do you see any signs of trauma to the one turtle's back legs? Can you entice him to eat with something smelly like brine shrimp? I'm really sort of stumped as to what this could be... when his legs shake does it look more like a seizure or like fluttering?

[SpotsMama]

If the other two turtles are eating fine and the temp seems to be ok for them, then it's probably not what's causing your big one's problem. Also, if the temp is 81 degrees fahrenheit, then it's plenty warm already. Don't turn it up any higher.

Do you know if he's been pooping normally?

Honestly, I think you'd better get your turtle to a vet. I don't know about the back legs shaking but it doesn't sound good. Until you can get him to a vet, continue to keep him warm, avoid stress and keep trying to entice him to eat. Avoid stressing him as that will use up his energy.

Also, if you haven't already you'.d better separate the sick one from the other two in case what he has is contageous.

Good luck to you and your turtle. Keep us posted on how it's going.

[SpotsMama]

Just remembered!

Here's something to help a turtle that isn't eating until you can get him to a vet: you can soak him in a solution of 50% Pedialyte (it's something for babies that you get at stores like Walgreens or Walmart) and 50% water. Let him sit in the solution for awhile twice a day. Keep him warm while he's in there. Apparently he will drink some of the solution and this may boost his energy level.

[marisa]

How big is the tank that the 3 turtles are in? How big are the turtles? How often is the tank cleaned and the water changed?

Has the shivering/shaking stopped with the increase in temp? I wouldn't think the cause for the shaking is a cool temp if only the back legs are involved, though...Have you really looked at the back legs to see if there's any kind of injury to them?

Does the turtle eat at all? If not, combined with the lethargy and possible neurological problem (shaking), you really should consider having him seen by a herp vet.

[megcornell]

Also, only warm blooded animals shiver now that I think of it, so whatever this shaking is it's not due to the turtle shivering to get warm.

[Dandelette.]

Hmm... I noticed today, its more out of its shell. My sister described the "shaking" as a twitch. I didnt noticed it twitch as much as it did yesterday, today. He ate one or two shrimps this evening, and I turned the water level back to normal. The turtle's size is about 4 inches long. We clean the tank weekly, we have a filter, heater, and easy-to-get-on-basking place.

I havent really been seeing him poop. Im sometimes afriad he eats the other turtles poops or stuff at the bottom of the tank, or even try to bite stuff around the tank.
I havent seperated them yet, a few nights ago i saw him trying to bite my other turtle's foot. I gave him food, he eats only 1 bite or two. I havent got time to change him into another tank yet, but im planning on doing it tomorrow.

I dont notice him all the time, but sometimes when i see him, he doesnt really swim. His legs and arms are out (not entirely), and he sort of floats. Is that a problem? This evening while i was observing him he didnt paddle like the my other turtles. He paddled abit, otherwise he was just floating sort of. I check on him alot during the evening more, do you think hes only floating in the evening, when i wake him up from sleep?

Thanks so much everyone

[SpotsMama]

A couple of the things you just mentioned are normal.

If what's happening with the back legs is best described as twitching while the turtle is basking, rather than shaking or shivering, then it's normal. All turtles will occasionally twitch while basking. Sometimes rather violently. Usually it's their head and front legs that twitch, sometimes it's the back legs. Sometimes it looks like they are trying to scratch or rub something off their skin or eyes. It may be that they are ichy or maybe they're getting too hot. At any rate, they all do it.

The other thing that's normal is occasional calm floating. He shouldn't be floating all the time, but sometimes they do float when they are just resting or looking around.

What's abnormal is a turtle that stays quietly pulled in to his shell all the time and that doesn't have an appetite. This is the description of a turtle that doesn't feel good - a sick turtle. It's a turtle that needs to see a vet.

[SpotsMama]

One more thing - sometimes when a turtle is coming down with something the symptoms will seem to come and go. Some days will be good, some bad, but overall there's a slow decline. Please watch your turtle closely if he seems to revive and make sure he doesn't start going downhill again.

[Dandelette.]

Thanks so much for the help. Im continuing to observe him, he isnt much in its shell anymore, and i dont see much twitching. The twitching by the way, was underwater. It wasnt while it was basking.

However he seems to float frequently and still doesnt eat.
He doesnt really swim around like my other two. He just stay in one place. Sometimes my other turtles push him around and he doesnt paddle away. He just gets pushed around.

Thanks

[SpotsMama]

My recommendation - take your little guy to a vet. He doesn't seem to be thriving at all.

And the twitching I was talking about occurs when turtles are basking, not when they are in the water.