Urgent Care :: HELP...i think my turtle is dead =(

[maymay]

How big is your turtle? Around 2 inches
How long have you had it? About a year and 10 months

What is the water temperature? 78 degrees
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? more than half the tank
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? no

What is the basking temperature? ummm...for sure over 80, (but I know it's not too hot) I don't have a thermometer for the basking area.
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? those yellowish/brownish docks that use suction cups. The ones most people have or start out with.
Is there a UVB light? no

What have you been trying to feed it? lettuce, turtle food
When was the last time your turtle ate? yesterday

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gallon
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? yes

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

Two days ago, it had an eye infection, and am currently putting eye drops. I cleaned the tank, raised the basking temp a bit and Toto was eating fine. Today, I picked it up put eyedrops, and noticed brown stuff where the poop comes out, which looked like its poop, but almost seemed as if it was stuck in there.

I put it back in the water, and it looked as if it was fanning its back legs. Not the front. I went away for a minute, came back, and noticed the turtle was on it's side, I picked it up, and its legs didn't go in like it usually does, it just stayed hung out. I shook it a little, but its legs just kind of flopped...but the head moved and the arms moved. Now it's just on the rock and will not go in the water. I notice that it's very weak. it just rests its head on the rock, and will not really move, but will jerk a little. The legs won't move though.

So I put it back in the water, and I noticed that it fanned its legs again. It seemed to me that it was trying to swim but couldn't, so i lifted it up and put it back on the rock. I looked at its behind, and it looks even bigger. Like there's poop stuck in there.

Toto basically seems to be weak at its legs, and seems like it will have trouble swimming. I suppose I should remove some water.

Okay, so I just noticed now, that Toto moved, but moved lopsided, and eventually went into the water, then when in the water, Toto moved its legs really fast again....i put him on the dock and it moved its legs really fast. okay now it went back in the water, and is not swimming but moving like a frog??

Okay, now it stopped moving. Eyes are opened. I lifted Toto up, and the arms and legs, and head didn't move...and just flopped down. I think it's dead now =( Is it?? As you can tell, I'm typing this as I watch it's condition. But most of this happened in less than 15 minutes.

[maymay]

5 minutes....didn't move at all.

[DavidY]

Wow, I have no idea. At 2inches in almost 2 years he's awfully small. It sounds like there were other ongoing health issues going on with the poor guy. If he is still alive, you will need to bring him to a reptile vet first thing tomorrow. But he does not sound very good at all.

[steve]

Sorry to hear this! Was the problem checked out by a vet? Is Toto a male? That "brown stuff" could be his penis and he's "fanning", though this could also be a prolapse. Do you have gravel in the tank?

He only sinks or floats when you put him in the water? Are his other limbs moving/reacting to touch?

[maymay]

I don't know if toto is a male or female...coz it's still small. i don't think that brown stuff is the penis because it looked like the same colour as it's poop. and it looked kind of mushy a little. It would even be really hard to tell, because it didn't look that abnormal. I though at first it wasn't done pooping yet! I don't have gravel in the tank. He is sinking in the water, and is not moving ANY limbs on the dock, and is not reacting to touch. I believe Toto passed
It's just weird, besides the eye infection, all of this just happened today..and so quickly
Toto's still on the dock....I think i'm still hoping
But I guess it won't happen. What do I do with Toto now?

[maymay]

It is pretty small for the amount of time I had Toto. That was the only problem though. Toto had no other problems except for it's growth. At least that I noticed. Toto always seemed healthy. Just today...it all happened

[steve]

Again, I'm sorry to hear this. You can't be certain that he has passed just yet and I would take him out of the water and somewhere warm and dry. What kind of eye infection was it and what were you using to treat it?

[maymay]

I can't remember the name of the eye drops. I can't get it at this moment. The eye infection was just around the top of the eye. It wasn't really puffy, and Toto didn't have it's eyes closed. It was just slightly puffy along the top of it's eye. Kind of like a transparent/whitish/greyish colour. I do believe Toto's passed because it's been an hour and Toto hasn't moved......and when i lift Toto up, it's head, and limbs droop down.

[megcornell]

You've had the turtle for over a year and it's only 2 inches?
If that's the case, it sounds like the poor little guy had some serious problems from the start.
I agree with steve, don't assume he's passed yet... keep him somewhere calm and quiet...
I'm really sorry about your turtle

[maymay]

I'll do that....but if Toto doesn't move by the time I wake up tomorrow morning, can I assume he's passed? What would make a turtle not move for a LONG time, after showing symptoms that it was really sick, and then all of a sudden move again?

[DavidY]

I'm really sorry to hear about it too. It's possible he could have been born with an internal defect that suddenly caused this problem to occur. There's so many factors that would be too hard to measure or know of. Keep an eye for any signs of movement in case he's just unconcious or in shock.

[SpotsMama]

I'm so sorry to hear this. It doesn't sound good. I think you should do as Steve suggested, and keep him somewhere warm and quiet and dry until tomorrow and then see how he is. I'm sorry for you too, it must be very scary.

[maymay]

it definetly is sad. They become a part of your family. I must admit, I did shed a couple tears. I didn't think i would, but I did. But I can't keep an eye on Toto because I have to sleep. Well, if worse comes to worse....which i believe is already there, what do I do with Toto? I don't think my mom and grandmother would like me to bury it in our backyard....?

[SpotsMama]

Ok - we'll hope for the best but it's always good to be prepared just in case.

I think burying him in your back yard would be a really good idea. It's comforting to have them close by. Wrap him in some cloth or put him in a little box and bury it as deep as you can so nothing can come along and dig it up.

[maymay]

actually burying Toto in the backyard kind of creeps me out a little....