Urgent Care :: Syringe feed a turtle; not eating either

[LoE]

Has anyone tried smooshing turtle pellets with water & feeding a res with a syringe? My girl is not eating.....going on 3 months. She likes to eat rocks. She had one in her intestine & several in her tummy after viewing her xrays. Vet put her on reglan, one little rock came out first day, nothing since & she is not eating/no poop. She had a vitamin shot & vet gave her fluids. Vet has no other ideas; suggesting euthanasia..... I am not sure we are ready for that. Any suggestions? Thx!

How big is your turtle? 2.1 gm
How long have you had it? she is 10 years old; her name is Ernie

What is the water temperature? mid 70s
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? Yes, 2
How much water is in there? 40 gal tank
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature?
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes, but her feet still are in the water
What kind is it or what is it made out of? floating dock
Is there a UVB light? yes 2.0

What have you been trying to feed it? reptomin pellets, shrimp, cuttle bone
When was the last time your turtle ate? August 2012

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 40 gal
Is the tank near a window? Yes, below the glass
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no, just me

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? she has slowed down in her daily activities

I thought she was a boy, until a few years ago; but she kept the same name she has had for 10 years, Ernie.
Thanks for any thoughts. BTW... I have removed all rocks from her tank. I want to put another type of platform in the tank for her to be on under UVB light that does not move; I am trying to create something. She does not eat greens or little fish or bugs.....never has liked them.

[steve]

Yes, you can try it, though you should be guided by a vet regarding it's practice (you don't want to insert it incorrectly).

As you mentioned elsewhere, you can try diluting Pedialtye (1:1 with water) and soak her. Break up some pellets, so that she might drink some in too. There should be enough solution so that she can soak up to her head. I don't recall a time frame regarding the soak, but try 30-60 minutes. I would replace the solution aster you used it (since there will be food and possibly waste material in it).

How severe is/was the impaction? How long was it in her tank?

[LoE]

How many times a day do you think the pediolyte soak should be?
She has always ate rocks & always had rocks on the floor of her tank; but I thougth she usually spit them out; occasionaly, 1 would poop out. The rock in her intestine (or so we think it is there) is bigger than the red rock that came out. (I changed from small red rocks to a larger round rock several years ago). The vet cannot tell if the rock in the intestine is actually there or if it perforated the intestine. She has only water, 2 heaters, floating dock, thermometer in her filtered tank since we came home from vet. Very little waste is coming out of her; I am dropping very few pieces of pellets in her tank once or twice a day. I pretty much scoop out the tiny bits of waste. Her water was changed prior to going to vet. I normally totally clean the tank & rocks 4-6 weeks apart.

[LoE]

btw.... I was thinking of syringe feeding through her mouth. She hates shots! I have had a bugger of a time giving her the reglan shots! She bent the needle a couple times on me as I struggled to hold her & administer shot. She is also on Plumbum, a homeopathic remedy from the vet; .10ml twice a day. She spits it out sometimes; so I give her another dose right away as I have lots of it that is when I see her do it. (I was only given 5 days of reglan injections.)

[steve]

I would do it twice a day. If there is a serious impaction, did the vet do an x-ray?

[LoE]

Yes, the vet did xrays which is where we seen the rocks - probably at least 12 tinys that we could see in the bottom of her stomach & the one that we felt was in her intestine. But the vet said she could not tell for sure that it was in the intestine or if it had torn the intestine.
I bought the pedialyte this afternoon;I had to go to several stores to get enough for covering her. Now I am looking for a smaller container to put her in, but a big enough one to hold her & let her be comfortable in for the time period. I thought a 5 gal bucket would work, but she is too big for it. I think she is drinking some water this afternoon. She definitely has more spunk tonight...actually wiggling her feet when I took her out of her tank. I might be just wishfully thinking that.

[steve]

How big were the rocks you were using?

[LoE]

They were a mix of 1/2 to 1 inch size

[steve]

Will you be getting another X-ray? I would also increase her water temperature to 80F.

[LoE]

I am thinking about going to vet next week for another xray. She is discharging some really black stuff, (like build up on her intestine, maybe). Just little flakes like; they are pretty flat. Then the exciting news.....some other little chunks & a bigger chunk came out yesterday. I did test the big one to see if a rock, but it was not. But it was rather firm at first until it had been in the water a bit. AND she is much more active, closer to her old self, yesterday! She is hanging on to the syringe when I give her the plumbum! She is moving much more & using her right front leg much more; not quite 100%. I had to really hold her down to give her the med yesterday (2 times). I did the pedialyte soak twice yesterday. Does the store brand work as well as pedialtye? There is a slight diff in the order of ingredients towards the end. It is $5 a bottle here on sale & it takes me 4 bottles to get enough in the tub I am using. I have emptied 3 stores already of the clear who had the best price on the clear pedialyte. She is still not eating though. I break a few pellets into small pieces (about in 1/2) & put in her water. She is starting to look at them just a bit, but makes no effort to go for them. I have not tried syringe feeding her yet. With her increased activity, I am certain she is feeling much better! She is the fastest turtle I know; she can beat a rabbit any day in a race; except now when she has had this problem.

[steve]

Hopefully she'll expel those rocks soon. Hopefully she'll swallow some of those pellets when she drinks.

[LoE]

Yes, hopefully! I am much more optimistic yesterday & today! Thank you for all your ideas & suggestions & feedback! It was comforting when I was almost positive that I was going to loose her. I must say that she (Ernie) and I have definetly bonded over the past few weeks.

[LoE]

Ernie is stil not eating. How do I post/attach a picture? Do RES have something like an adam's apple? I am wondering if something is stuck in her throat. 2nd set of Xray shows spot gone in intestine. I tried syringe feeding her mooshed pellets. She spits it out or holds it in her mouth until I put her back in her big tank. I am worried about her with me being gone for 10 days soon. I am still doing pedioltye soaks & she gets the Plumbum Met (the homopathic med). Thx!

[steve]

So she doesn't have any impaction? If you want to upload a pic using the forum, click full editor, then Upload attachment. You can also use free sites like imgur.com

I would try some live fish, even if she refused before. Have you tried other treats?

[LoE]

No, it appears that it is gone. I was trying to post a pic of her xray, but I do not see the editor button. I will try the live fish. small ones I assume; any breed that you suggest? I am wondering if she has a rock stuck in her throat. Xrays don't show that part of her body. She is not expelling much waste these days. I am trying to figure out a way/someone to tend to her while I am in GA for 10 days over the holidays. A fella at the pet store has a RES similar to her. I am thinking of asking him if she could come be with him while I am gone. Ahh, my pictures are too big from the vet to attach. Yes, I gave her some 100% natural sun dried shrimp....didn't eat. I read where giving her food via syringe prob won't work as she needs to be under water to swallow it. Hmmmm, I wonder if I should try putting the syringe farther down her throat.