Urgent Care :: HELP! SO CONFUSED. is there any thing esle I should be doing

[trinkka]

How big is your turtle? 4inches

How long have you had it? 4 weeks

What is the water temperature? 75-78

Are you using a water heater? no. planning on getting one. have spent so much money already. water temp between 75-78

How much water is in there? alttle over 5 gallons enough to swim in

Are you using a water conditioner? only when tank is clean every 2 wks

Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 94

Is there a basking light? yes

Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes

What kind is it or what is it made out of? looks like a bridge

Is there a UVB light? unsure came with turtle kit from petco

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets, kreel turnips, carrots apples
minos

When was the last time your turtle ate? 10 days

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 30x12x12

Is the tank near a window? no

Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? not during day, some between 3pm and 8pm my 10 year old sons turtle

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes and read two other books and snappy turtle has seen a vet. very livey after taken of of tank, drive to vet and while there. than than ok for while. next day lifeless.
vet ran a ova parasite test, said to take snappy outside atlest 20 min a day, try to get hin to eat, rise water temp to 80 degrees if snappy not doing better to bring in for braytrl shots (antibocitics)

Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

corected basking temp. from 80 to 94

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

very lifeless in tank until he goes outside than he is scared/ agitated very lively alike normal. wont eat hasn't gone in water on his on in 7days. eyes closed shut every morning.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I would take snappyturtle back to the vet.

That behaviour is not normal. Sorry to say, but those "turtle kits" that they sell at petco are pretty much useless. I doubt that it brought a UVB bulb or an adequate filter for your tank. Also, 10 gallons is too small for a 4 inch turtle. Your turtle should have a 40 gallon tank (10 gallon per every inch of your turtle)

If you buy all the right supplies online, you might save yourself some cash.

You need a UVB light which you can get here www.bigalsonline.com Look in the reptile lighting section. Look for a bulb that says "Reptisun 5.0" Also, what kind of filter do you have? Small tanks tend to get dirty faster, especially with a turtle of that size. You should have a filter rated 3x the size of your tank. For example, 30 gallon tank - a filter rated for a 60 gallon tank. Get it?

Also, a water heater is important. You need to keep the water at a stable temperature. Water that fluctuates too much will cause RI (pneumonia) Do a search on it.

Good luck,

[trinkka]

thank you for your reply. the tank is 30 gallons and after research I should have done more RESEARCH before I got anything from petco, even snappy turtle. I have found what I think is a good pet shop for exotic animals its has a lot of reptiles and they have helped me so much. they informed me that my set up from petco was bad and recommend that I start to replace things slowly and I'm tring to get snappys habitat right. so if its the water i'll get a heater! and a uvb light! He has gravel in his tank which is coming out today. petco deal! pet store said i did't need gravel. so we will be fixing all of the above. snappy goes tomorrow for shots. wish us better health.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Wow I am so impressed! A pet store!? Saying that gravel useless!? Hooray, finnally they catch on. Pet stores have a bad reputation with giving out realy bad advice when it comes to turtles and other reptiles - but in this case, it looks like they are doing a good job!

Yes, gravel is dangerous. So many turtles have died because of it (if its eaten and your turtle is unable to pass it, it can be realy hard and expensive to fix) Gravel is not neccesary at all.

Welcome to the forum, hope you stick around..

Oh and by the way, have you tried dipping the pellets in tuna? Sometimes when RES refuse to eat, enticing them with something smelly works.

[DavidY]

Your water temp sounds about right but a water heater will keep it at a steady temperature which is better (less stressful for the turtle). The UVB light is important for skeletal and shell growth. Use the UVB bulb with a regualr light bulb for basking heat. That's great that you're getting Snappy proper vet care. He sounds pretty sick but your vet should be able to help him recover. I hope everything turns out okay, and welcome to the forum!

[trinkka]

I'll try the tuna advise and keep you up to date on snappy. can you recommend a water heater?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Yes. The visi therm stealth heater is a good one. Head over to www.bigalsonline.com and look for it, it should be in the fish section.

[DavidY]

The Visitherm Stealth heaters are really good.

[SpotsMama]

If Snappy won't eat the pellets even with tuna juice, try him with a little piece of the tuna itself (tuna packed in water). It should not be a regular part of his diet - way too high protein - but for now since he's sick he needs his calories.

Good luck. We'll be thinking of you and pulling for hou.

[steve]

Has your son been handling the turtle? RES really shouldn't be handled too often, especially when they are in a new environment. Children shouldn't handle them at all. They like the privacy and do require an adjustment period.

[trinkka]

thank you for all the great advise . we took out all of the gravel and cleaned snappys tank.he is moving around! he looks alot better, but I would like to see how he is doing in the morning. he always look so very sick in the mornings. I bought a visi therm heater, thanks xsavingsaturdayx. SpotsMama
I'll try the tuna. my son actually loves this turtle and respects the rules we have in place. he really likes watching more than handling him.We were cleaning his tank every two weeks because of the gravel. that was the only time we handled him. Question our vet said we should take snappy out to feed him and let him sit in the sunlight for twenty minutes a day. is this true?
also a recommendation for a new water filter would be great!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

If you have a UVB light for him you dont have to do that. But it will still be nice to get him some natural UVB rays from the sun every now and then. I'd say not everyday though..thats what a UVB light is for, to replace the sun.

Feeding outside of the tank? Do you mean, like in a seperate container? If so, yes it is a good idea since it keeps the tank water clean (food fouls the water quick) just make sure the water in the feeding container is the same temp as the water in the tank.

And your welcome! Thats what we are here for! To help..

[SpotsMama]

I agree with xsavingsaturdayx on the vet's advise. And I assume when you say feed your turtle outside the tank you mean in a container with water in it. You know a turtle can't swallow unless he's in water so he has to eat in water.

A big caution: If the gravel in snappy's tank was small enough for him to have swallowed some, then he may have already. If you can, have the vet xray him to make sure there isn't gravel in his stomach or gut.

Good luck! Let us know how it's going!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Crap..I didnt think of the gravel. Yeah, that can also be a possibility on why he is not eating and etc. A member on here lost a turtle to gravel about a little less than a month ago..Definitley ask the vet about that. I hope all goes good...

[DavidY]

You know if the turtle is impacted from the gravel, you should go back to that Petco and make them pay for the vet bills as well as reimburse you for the gravel, and if the turtle dies, reimburse you for that too. Heck nail 'em for the entire purchase of everything you bought that day to try and teach them a lesson to learn about the animals they sell before they go giving bad advice to customers. And while you're there, wave your hands in the air and keep yelling that your turtle died because of the advice they gave you when you bought it. And have your son with you crying and screaming "I want my turtle back! I want my turtle! You killed my turtle!" Somebody's gotta teach those morons a lesson.