Urgent Care :: Help!

[BlueDoraemon]

She's sleeping on the ramp...like she always does.

[SpotsMama]

That's good. Good luck tomorrow - we'll be thinking of you and your girl.

[Hoooneylynn]

So she is only in that 10 gallon for a week? What size tank to you normally have? And I assume that your tank at school has a filter and a heater right? A heater is VERY important, so if you dont have one in your other tank, you should get one right away... do you think she could have been injured during your trip home?

[BlueDoraemon]

The dr. said there's no signs of tramua...It's lack of vitamins...which could cause swelling. The turtle's hand was actually bleeding when we were in the office so the dr. took a blood sample. Sample was clear, no signs of bacteria or white blood cell. By boosting nuritrients, the swollen paw should clear up.

About his shell, he suspected MBD...some pet store turtles could have...To treat it, again, boost calcium.

Thank you for all the responses. I'm now off to buy some vitamins for her!

[SpotsMama]

I'll be darned! I did not know a vitamin deficiency could result in such symptoms. Keep us posted on her progress. It will be interesting to see how quickly it clears up. What exactly are you going to be giving her besides the calcium?

If you haven't seen it already, here's a lot of good info on nuitrition:

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

If you follow the guidelines in here all your turtle's nuitrition needs should be accommodated. Please ask any questions that come to mind.

[marisa]

It seems a little odd to me that a lack of vitamins would cause only one paw to become swollen and red, but given the condition she's in (and seems to have been living in), I suppose anything's possible. The other paws are OK?

What kind of vitamins are you going to get for her? I think Herptivite is supposed to be a good one, and for a calcium supplement, RepCal is really good. Let us know how your turtle is doing.

[BlueDoraemon]

I got her Zoo Med's Reptivite Reptile Vitamins. It's white powder, I dip and coat ReptoMin pellets with it before feeding them to her. ReptoMin is supposedly the "most nuritrious" pellets out there?

[SpotsMama]

Also, do you keep a cuttlebone in the tank? That will help with the calcium.

[marisa]

Reptomin is supposed to be a reputable pellet. I don't know if any one pellet is absolutely the most nutritious pellet out there---there are several brands that are considered to be good, and Reptomin is one of them. It's a bit higher in protein than some of the others. I think the best thing you can do is use the Reptomin as part of the diet in combination with a variety of foods. Since your turtle is older, plant matter should be a part of the diet. You might also get some RepCal to increase the calcium in the diet as well. It's a powder that you can also coat the pellets with (perhaps you could alternate it with the vitamin powder).

[BlueDoraemon]

Yup, I just got cuttle bone recently.

[Hoooneylynn]

vitamin deficiency caused swelling of one leg, plus bleeding? hmmm....

[BlueDoraemon]

I am not sure...but he seems like a good dr who has been in practice since 91'. He was the one who brought up MBD... Even it's not vitamin deficiency, and not blood poisoning...no bacteria or infection present in the blood...what could it be?

[Hoooneylynn]

I have no idea.. but why would there be bleeding? I would think its due to injury... did you ask the vet about your turts shell? Have you fed anything different or used anything different? Even if it had an allergic reaction to something... it wouldnt just cause on leg to swell up...Or, was she walking outside of the tank and possibly stepped in something?

[steve]

You could always go for a second opinion. Considering the serious situation, I would look into it. Does the leg bother her in anyway, especially when she crawls around? What is her reaction when you touch it?

[BlueDoraemon]

It seems to have gotten worse. I am now thinking it's a broken claw since one of the claw seems very bent. I'm seeking 2nd opinion....