Urgent Care :: PLEASE HELP ME, I THINK MY TURTLE IS ILL

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Oh wow..Yeah I didnt read that part. Your turtle definitley needs more space. 5 gallons is not suitable, not even for a baby turtle. Like kristen said, 60 gallons is what you will need, however it is 10 gallons of water per every inch of your turtle, so I would start looking for a bigger tank..probably one around 100 gallons so that it could last you forever.

Are you taking her to get xrayed? I'm realy worried about that gravel..are you taking it out?

What makes turtles happy is a ton of space to swim around in and nice quiet time to themselves, and good food of course!

[RunninWideOpen]

If you haven't changed the water lately and it's dirty, that might very well explain why she's always on her basking rock and not wanting to be in the water.

[megcornell]

I think you're best bet is to take all the gravel out and buy Disney a larger tank. At her size, she should be able to pass any gravel she swallowed if it is the brightly colored fish tank stuff I'm imagining it is. If you cannot get a larger tank you can always buy a larger plastic container (like storage bins for example).
The best way to make Disney happy-- and then healthier-- is to increase the tank size and remove the harmful gravel. You should also start feeding her veggies if you haven't. And can you buy a floating dock instead of stacking rocks? That can be dangerous because the rocks can fall.
Since the vet told you he didn't know what he was doing with turtles, I'm thinking going back to him will be a wasted effort so you're best bet is to improve Disney's habitat.

[RunninWideOpen]

i don't think going back to the vet is a wasted effort if he can tell the vet what he's looking for now. if he goes in and tells the vet that the turt may have swallowed rocks and needs an xray to see - and if rocks do show up in the xray the vet can give laxatives. i think that would be quite beneficial.

he just needs to tell the vet that he's looking for rocks. before, the vet didn't know what to look for.

[Tanjin Disney]

Thanks to all!!! Very much! I changed the wather, ajust the temp. on 27C and i removed the rocks and gravels...and irst thing in the morning i will go to by her sometning bigger! Could it be that the red spots are maybe appaird from toxins in urin? I will let you know how the things are going! Any more advice is ok, so if you have anything useful to add, please do so! THANKS TO ALL!!!

[RunninWideOpen]

Fantastic!! Sounds like you're takin all the right steps to try and get her healthy again. I'm so glad to hear it!!

Let us know how things go! Here it a link for info on trying to get her to eat, it may be helpful. http://www.redearslider.com/entice_eating.html

[DavidY]

Yes toxins from her urine/excrement will cause lesions and eventually poison her body. That is why a good filter is so necessary as well as regular water changes. I noticed you mentioned that you didn't have any filter and that you only change the water every 2 weeks. That's not good at all. If you had a good working filter you could get away with changing the water every 2 weeks but without a filter you should be doing at least a 50% water change every day or every other day. Turtles expel a lot of waste and will pollute a small tank very quickly. Without a biological filter to consume that waste, your turtle is slowly being poisoned to death. You just did a water change, right? Take a sample of that water to your pet store after a couple of days and have them test it. I think you'll be shocked at the toxicity of the ammonia level in the water after only two days.

[Tanjin Disney]

HI EVERYBODY!!! I just wanted to say that Disney is preety OK, she eat today a little and she is a little more active! But i am still considered about the red spots on her legs, they are still there and she started to scrach them a little! Is it posibble that she is alergic to antibiotic? She nerev had that red spots before! What could that be. does anybody knows? THAKS!

[RunninWideOpen]

so glad to hear she's doing better!! give it a few days and see if the red spots start to get better.

[marisa]

Do you know what antibiotics Disney was taking? It's possible the red spots are from the antibiotics, it's also possible that the red spots are from the infection and the itching is the result of healing... Are they getting any fainter?

Can you post a pic of the red spots?

[grey goose]

I do a 25-30% water change every two weeks and I have the best filtration money can buy! Your turt probably has a hygiene related infection and you need to make an effort to find a good herp vet to help you (and your turtle) out.