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

[Tanjin Disney]

My turtle is is female, her shell is 15 cm, i have her for 2,5 years, water temperature in the tank is 25 Celsius, i have a heater, there is about 15 litars in the tank, i don't have a filtration, i have a basking light, there is also a platform from stones and its easy to climb, i have tryed to feed her, she eat 2 days ago but before that she didn't eat for several days, she usually eats folating food and fruits, her thank is not so close to window and there is not much activity in the room. She is depresed, she doesn't wants to go in the water, she doesn't wants to eat, and she has a few red spots on her front legs, she didn't had them before, and she started to make a strange noise today, it sound like a hickup! I think she lost some weight so please PLEASE help my turtle Disney! THANKS IN ADVANCE!!!!! PLEASE HURRY!!!

[marisa]

Welcome to the forum.

I just want to be sure---your turtle used to eat well and seemed to be healthy. She stopped eating for several days, then ate and has now refused to eat for the past few days?

What do your turtle's eyes look like---are they closed or swollen at all?

Your turtle only wants to bask? Does your turtle breath with her mouth open when on the basking area? Is there any liquid or mucus coming from the nose or mouth?

The noise your turtle is making---is it like a clicking sound?

The red spots are only on the legs? Do you notice any redness in the areas between the scutes (plates) on the shell? Can you post a pic of the legs with the red areas?

That's not much water in the tank--how big is the tank? How often do you change the water and clean the tank? What else is in the tank besides the basking area and heater?

Where do you live? I'm concerned about the lack of activity and those red spots...Is there a vet who treats turtles anywhere near you?

[Tanjin Disney]

Hi Marisa!
Thanks for being so quick!
Here are the answers... Yes, my turtle was alwasy healthy and eat well, very well, she didn't eat several days (5-6) then she eat from my hand, i fead her, but since then she didn't eat on its own! Her eyes looks normal and also her breathing is normal. She only wants to bask and her activity is low, but before this she was normal and very active turtle, always playing and jumping in the water. There are no liquids or mucus coming out from her nose or mouth! About the noise, no, its not realy clicking sound, more like a hickup and she started to do this today and she did it only a few time and then stoped.
Red spots are only on her front legs and they don't look intensive like her natural red spots on the head, more pale, orange colour, like some pale paint spot droped on her, and there are 3 spots.
About the tank - its dimensions are 60 cm X 50 cm, so the water covers about 10 cm the tank ( thats how much is deep), i change water every 2 weeks, there is nothing in the tank beside the basking area which is made of little and large stones and there is also a heater and a termometar, 2/3 of the tank is covered with water, 1/3 with basking area. I use this thank for almost 2 years and she love to live there, she was always very active and happy!
I live in Serbia in a little town called Subotica and there is no special vet for the turtles...just ordinary vet for small animals, cats and dogs.... i took her there but he said he doesn't realy knows whats wrong with her, he gave her some general antibiotic and vitamin B, and she was a little better for one day (that is the day she eat from my hand) but after that it is the same...spots are still there and she is depresed!

THANKS very much Marisa for helping me and my Disney

[marisa]

Are the spots raised at all like pimples? Can you post a picture of the legs with the red spots?

[Tanjin Disney]

Hi! No, spots are not raised, it's just the colour on the skin! I post a pic here, sorry if the quality is not good! I hope you'll be able to see it!

http://www.mediafire.com/imageview.php? ... jf&thumb=4

[RunninWideOpen]

Do you have any gravel or small rock in the tank? That wouldn't explain the red spots, but that could explain your turtle's behavior. Sometimes they eat small rocks.

[Tanjin Disney]

P.S. - when i took the picture i notice that now she has a few white spots on the bottom shell, some are realy small and some are about 0,5 cm! She didn;t have them yesterday, they appear today! She has 2 big and 2 small spots!

[Tanjin Disney]

RunninWideOpen, yes there are small rocks and gravels that she could maybe eat! What should i do? And how do i know did she eat them or not?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

The only way to know is to take her to a vet and have her xrayed. If I was you i'd take out all the gravel. Gravel is dangerous for turtles because they sometimes tend to eat them, and it causes impaction which leads to expensive vet bills and death.

[RunninWideOpen]

The vet can tell really easy if she's eaten any by an xray. Not sure how expensive that is where you live.

take all that out immediately. make sure that you get it ALL out too, so that way you can tell if she poops any out. If she does poop some out, get it out right away so she doesn't eat it again. Any small gravel / rock that they can eat can be deadly, because for some reason they do eat it. My Squirt ate some. Luckily, she was able to pass all of the rocks. The fact that your girl's stopped eating and has become inactive would tell me she's unable to pass them (if she has eaten some). The vet can give her laxatives to help pass them, but I'm not sure what else can be done.

I don't want to alarm you, because it could be something else that is making her ill, but since you've got small rocks, it's a very good chance that she ate some. I didn't know any better when I got my girls, and one day I caught Squirt with some in her mouth. Luckily Squirt was ok. I've read other threads of people's turtles dying from eating it. I hope your girl's okay!! Good luck.

[RunninWideOpen]

PS: I'm not sure what 25C equates to in Fahrenheight? I know when turtles are ill it is very beneficial to up the water temp to 80-82F. Sorry can't tell ya what that is in Celcius.

Also, what do you usually feed her? Does she get veggies regularly? The fiber in veggies helps them poo easier and I think that's what saved Squirt, cuz she LOVES her lettuce.

[DavidY]

25C = 77F and 80F = 27C

[Tanjin Disney]

Thanks a lot everyone! I will ajust my temp at 27C but won't that be too hot for her?
Also is there any universal thing that i can do or that i can give her to eat that will make her more active and feeling better? What makes turtle most happy?

[industrial_girl_2000]

FYI - 15L is about 5 gallons. That tank is WAAAAY too small for your 6-inch turtle. For a turtle that size, the tank needs to be 60 gallons (240L). I am not exaggerating here! Your turtle needs a bigger space.

How often do you change the water? I'm sure the tank gets dirty really really fast. Turtles are dirty animals & their poop can make them very sick.

[RunninWideOpen]

oo, industrial girl's right. i didn't see that. that's very VERY very small. it would be like you living in a coffin. EeEk i think she's right, that could be what's making her sick also. especially since you don't have a filter. you would need to be dumping out all the water and replacing it EVERY single day to keep the water clean enough for her to be healthy. Remember, turtles don't just poo, they pee. We only see the solid waste, we don't see the rest of it.

first thing to do would be to get her in some CLEAN water. whether it's replacing the water in her tank or putting her in the bathtub. see if that makes her feel better.

second thing to do is get her in a bigger tank. If you can't afford a new tank, try and find a large plastic container like a Rubbermaid. Not sure what stores to suggest where you live, they are in Walmarts, Kmarts, etc here in the US. those Rubbermaids are really cheap and will give your girl more of the space she needs.

If you get her in a bigger space it will be MUCH easier to keep it clean (it won't get dirty as fast) and it will be MUCH MUCH healthier for her. And she'll love you for all the swimming room. In the wild they live in lakes with thousands of gallons of space to explore and swim in.


Also, on your temperature question, no that is not too hot for her. It will hopefully give her metabolism a little boost and get her to eat something. I would try to get her to eat some romaine lettuce or something else with lots of fiber in case she did swallow some rocks.