Urgent Care :: Possible RI for Ares! :( Please Help!

[aresbamftortuga]

How big is your turtle? 5.5-6 inches
How long have you had it? about a month and a half

What is the water temperature? 78-80 (higher cause he's sick)
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? about 45 gallons in a 60 gallon tank
Are you using a water conditioner? yep
Are you using any filtration? yep

What is the basking temperature? 90-92
Is there a basking light? yep
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yep
What kind is it or what is it made out of? turtle dock
Is there a UVB light? yep

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets and romaine lettuce
When was the last time your turtle ate? this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 60 gallons
Is the tank near a window? nope
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? nope

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

Here's the story - I got this turtle for my GF, and the pet store was brutally wrong on every aspect of turtle care (I also think they sold us a sick turtle), i found this site about a week later and remedied everything. Regardless, here are the symptoms.

Lethargic - only swims when we feed him.
Mucus/bubbles on the side of the mouth.
Tilts a little right when he swims.
Sneezes about 10 times a day.

From reading this site, we were pretty sure it was RI, so I called a local vet (luckily it's only 42 bucks for an exam + whatever meds cost), and we have an appointment on monday (Feb. the 19th).

So my question really is how do i keep him alive until monday???

Also, since he just sits up on basking platform, should the light be on him the whole time? I have two lights, one UVA/heat, and a UVB fluorescent, should both be on for 12 hours like it says here:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_lighting_basking.html

Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.

[jenaero]

I'd say RI as well. I'd call the vet daily to check for cancellations until the 19th just in case. Bumping the water temp up is a good start. The fact that he's eating is a good sign too. It'll help keep his strength up. Keep lighting on for the usual 12 to 14 hours. Good luck and let us know how it goes.

[SpotsMama]

To help keep the tank warm at night - in case he sits on the turtle dock at night too, why don't you put some towels or a blanket over the tank to keep the heat in.

[aresbamftortuga]

Thanks for the quick replies, i did call all the vets in the area, this is the only one who treats turtles (in fact, it's illegal to buy RES's here in NC, we had to smuggle one in), and the doctor who treats them isn't going to be in until Monday, but we have a 9:30 AM with him.

I'll do the towel over the tank thing as well, although I keep my townhome at a good 75 degrees so the air temp shouldn't be too bad for him.

Keep him warm, keep him fed ... check!

[aresbamftortuga]

For any of you who feel like being upset with PETsMART, read on, here's what they told me would be good for my GF's 6 in turtle.

Tank: 20 gallon long.
Food: Just pellets
Lighting: UVA/basking light for 3-4 hours a day.
Rocks: Fish Gravel (the stuff that's small enough to swallow)
Filter: Fluval 2
And one of those stupid gravel vacuums that doesn't work unless you syphon turtle water into your mouth.

A week later, thanks to this site, this is the setup:

Tank: 60 Gallon Long
Food: Romaine Lettuce and Pellets
Lighting: UVA basking and UVB 12 hrs/day
Rocks: Smooth River Rocks
Filter: 60 gallon 5 stage filter
Plus water treatment stuff, turtle clean, calcium water booster, and a Python cleaner.

I don't get why they do this ... cause i would have spent about 200 bucks more at their store if they told me what i really needed. (and no, I didn't go back there, and the new tank was given to us, thank god.) I guess they wouldn't sell as many turtles if people knew how much they actually needed to take care of one.

Even if Ares passes, the next turtle is going to have the mac daddy setup.

[SpotsMama]

It's so heartening to hear someone like you that's making such an effort to do the responsible thing. I sincerely hope it goes well for poor Ares.

[aresbamftortuga]

alright we are 48 hours into the 96 hour fight for survival, ares seems to be doing alright this morning, still eating and slightly less lethargic, his listing when he swims is a little worse than it was before, but since he's only swimming 1-2 times a day, i guess that's not so bad.

I wiped the snot from his mouth with a q-tip last night, and he almost bit my finger off, (he seems to like my GF more, she feeds him, i get all the crappy jobs) but at least he's still fiesty

[aresbamftortuga]

Ares made it to the vetrinarian this morning!

Thanks to this site, we already knew that he had RI and that he needed baytril shots in his arm to clear him up, so here's how the conversation at the vet went:

We told the doctor the symptoms.
Dr.: Oh, he probably has a respiratory infection.
Us: Yep.
Dr.: He'll need shots of Baytril in his arm.
Us: Get out of town, really?
Dr.: Here's how to do it.
Us: Thanks doc. Here's our money.

I think that attests highly to the amount of good information on this site.

Word to the wise, when giving shots to your turtles, they will try to bite you and will pee violently all over the floor, and if they could talk, they'd tell you that the Baytril shot you just gave them, "Stings like the Dickens".

[SpotsMama]

Good luck little Ares. Keep us posted on how he's doing.

[abogada]

My turtle is about 18 years old. Once he probably had a punctured lung which he developed when food was left in his tank while we were away (he was sitting in very dirty water for several days) - that was many years ago, but when that happened his body got very puffy inside his shell - it's looking the same way now and he hasn't eaten anything for 2 weeks. He usually eats mighty dog dog food. The vet told me that dog food is quite nutrtious and that's what I've been feeding him for about 15 years, but for the past two weeks he won't eat anything. Last few days he's just sitting on the bottom of the tank - won't even get on his log to bask. What should I do?

[abogada]

My turtle is about 18 years old. Once he probably had a punctured lung which he developed when food was left in his tank while we were away (he was sitting in very dirty water for several days) - that was many years ago, but when that happened his body got very puffy inside his shell - it's looking the same way now and he hasn't eaten anything for 2 weeks. He usually eats mighty dog dog food. The vet told me that dog food is quite nutrtious and that's what I've been feeding him for about 15 years, but for the past two weeks he won't eat anything. Last few days he's just sitting on the bottom of the tank - won't even get on his log to bask. What should I do?

[SpotsMama]

You should get that turtle to a vet. Something is definitely wrong. Keep him warm until you can get him there. Raise the water temperature about 10 degrees to the low 80's (fahrenheit) and make sure the ambient air temperature is also warm.

After he gets well again, come back and let's discuss that diet some more.

Good luck, keep us posted.

[marisa]

The puffiness is not from being overweight? Does the puffiness "move" if you hold him at different angles (head lower or higher than his back end, for example)? If so, it sounds like water retention.

Bloating and lethargy means you really should take him to a herp vet to be evaluated. Given what you say about his diet, at his age, if he's been fed the diet you said he was for a lengthy period of time (which sounds like he was) renal (kidney) failure is a real possibility. He needs a herp vet, not anything anyone can do for him here. Find a herp vet (there's a post near the top of the urgent care section with links for finding one). Don't delay. Good luck.

[aresbamftortuga]

ahhh, thread jack!!! lol. abogada, i would take their advice and go to the herp vet, and good luck, I hope your turt pulls through. is it a slider?

As for Ares, he is swimming around a lot more now (sometimes for an hour plus a time), and his appetite is picking back up. Shots are still a big pain in the butt, i literally have to pull on his arm with my fingers til he gets tired and then he gives up and sticks it out for me to give him the shot.

I'm trying to decide when to take the water/basking temps back down to normal, we have 8 days before shots are done, i'll probably do it then.

[aresbamftortuga]

alright, it's been about 12 days since the vet visit and it looks like Ares is going to pull through (although a name change might be in order now that we know she's a girl). She is back at 100%, even better than when we first got her.

She is back in the water most of the time now and is displaying very happy behavior.

So ... my questions is, we scheduled a followup appt. at the vet the first time we were there, but is it worth it to go? (part of me is frustrated cause we paid almost 100 bucks the first time for the doctor to tell us everything we already knew, and I don't really want to pay 50 for him to tell us that we have a perfectly fine turtle.) What do you guys think?