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********Thank you everyone but the turtle apparently has had a RI since we received him from the mall of all places where the turtles were not well taken care of. It was too late in the game for us to know what it was and he unfortunately passed this afternoon =[


I have had my baby slider for 3 weeks now and he's been fine until I've noticed 3 days ago that he has been shaking. Every few minuets he jerk slightly violently and he isn't eating as much, he basks most of the time. Is Robert Jones going to die on me? What's going on? No bleeding, swollen eyes, temp is 78-81 degrees F, his diet consists of commercial pellets and aquatic plants, his water isn't cloudy, any help?

I would take him to a vet and separate him from the others.

I don't know that I can take him to the vet, and I only have one turtle so there's no risk of spread.

why cant you take him to the vet?

We don't have a vet that lives anywhere near by that can take reptiles.

Where do you live? http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=370
this thread has some sites to help locate a vet.

Do you have gravel / small rocks in the tank? That can be deadly to a turtle because they eat it and it gets impacted inside of them, especially smaller turtles.

We have small rocks but they are much too big for the baby turtle to eat and digest

I'm very sorry to hear he didn't make it. Quite often turtles are sick when you get them, especially babies kept in a poor environment. Baby turtles are very delicate and sometimes don't even make it in the best of conditions.

When little turtles get sick, frequently the first symptoms they show are lethargy (sleeping or basking a lot, low energy level) and loss of appetite. Their chances of survival are improved when they get good vet attention early on rather than later. Why don't you call around and see if any of the vets in your area know how to treat turtles. It might make all the difference to your turtle.

The jerking or twitching might be a normal thing. Basking turtles do it frequently. It might mean that they have an itch or that they're getting too hot. Sometimes it looks like they're rubbing their eyes or trying to scratch. If it's happening excessively it might be an indication of a problem like muscle spasms or seizures.

SpotsMama wrote:When little turtles get sick, frequently the first symptoms they show are lethargy (sleeping or basking a lot, low energy level) and loss of appetite. Their chances of survival are improved when they get good vet attention early on rather than later. Why don't you call around and see if any of the vets in your area know how to treat turtles. It might make all the difference to your turtle.

The jerking or twitching might be a normal thing. Basking turtles do it frequently. It might mean that they have an itch or that they're getting too hot. Sometimes it looks like they're rubbing their eyes or trying to scratch. If it's happening excessively it might be an indication of a problem like muscle spasms or seizures.

He only began convulsing these past few days.
I'll begin calling around the vets tomorrow and clean out the tank completely tonight and replace it with new water to set it up. I think I may get a new turtle soon. The baby turtle was only 2 1/2 inches long so I'm not sure it was even legal to sell. It was too young and it was out of my hands. We'll miss him.

Instead of buying a new turtle, try getting one from a Turtle or Reptile Rescue place. They're often in better healthy than what you can get in a pet store, and these turtles need new homes.

RunninWideOpen wrote:Instead of buying a new turtle, try getting one from a Turtle or Reptile Rescue place. They're often in better healthy than what you can get in a pet store, and these turtles need new homes.

I will certainly look and see if there are any of those in the area.

Here's a good source for adoptions. It's not a comprehensive list by any means but it's very good. If the people on here can't help you, maybe they know someone else who can:

www.turtlehomes.org