Urgent Care :: possible ri? help!

[marsspyder]

hi everybody,
i know this has all been disussed before and i have read every sticky
i just got 2 baby sliders from one of those mall quiosks about a month ago, i know i shouldn't have, but they were so cute and i didnt want them to go home with a kid whose parents would let them die...
but anyway, i have them in a 10 gallon fishtank, just until i find something bigger, and they're tiny, shells about the size of milk caps, and they have 3-4 inches of water, a land bridge a 30gal tank filter, and a uvb light across the top. (and i just got a heat lamp, but am afraid it will boil them b/c of the small tank.) we monitered the temps closely for a few days before getting the turtles to make sure they wouldn't get too cold, 75 water and 80-85 air, we feed them sticks and weve just started introducing veggies because i didnt want to change their diet suddenly

well when i brought them home melissa(yes) ate everything in site, she would even shove larry(res) out of the way to get what he had. we feed them twice a day and at first larry didnt eat alot, that may have been out of fear of melissa, but now hes eating and he loves romaine, he drags it around, hides under it, surfs on it, etc, but now melissa has taken to sitting on he bridge all day under the light and i dont think shes eating a lot.

so i guess my question is, do you think she is too cold? shes even up there all night.i know they dont eat when they're cold but larry is fine.

we went to the vet friday and he told me there wasn't really anything that i could do , but he said me set up was good, the diet was good, and that i was taking care of well, BUT SHE ISNT EATING!!!!! I asked if she should be up there at night and he said, well no but didn't really give me any other info...they were both going nuts in the tiny tank on the way to and from the vet so i know she can move...she just doesn't at home. and as soon as i put her back in the aquarium, she had a quick paddle then back to her bridge...

i tried separating her from larry to feed her and she wouldnt eat, i tried dried shrimp, reptomin, romaine lettuce, all in the big tank and the separate tank. is there anything else i can do? im gonna take her back to the vet tuesday, or at least call. do you think it could be ri? is there any way to treat this in baby yes? please please i am on my knees(well thats cos my computer is on the floor) begging for help and/or advise. i dont kow what to do and she keeps looking at me like its my fault she doesnt feel good, im doing everything i can!!

im currently looking for a bigger tank, but does anybody have any suggestions for a basking light that will produce a small spot so it doesnt overheat the tank?

thanks
amy

[marsspyder]

i had a nightime heat lamp aimed at her for an hour or so tonight(didnt want to leave it on unsupervised) and i turned it off a few minuted ago wrote the above, went back in and melissa scurried off her rock(hasnt done this in almost a week) and was eating a dried shrimp!!!!!!(also hasnt done in a week)
im so excited! she ate and swam, im still calling the vet, but this is in the right direction

[steve]

Question: since they are hatchlings are you sure you are able to tell them apart? Maybe Larry is still not eating.

How long has it been since you suspect Melissa has eaten? I'd consider taking them to a different vet. Really, no vitamins or antibiotics or tests? What kind of vet is that?

Upper 70's (78-80) is good for the hatchlings. Basking area should be around 90. Try to keep these as constant as possible. I don't think it is necessary to have a basking area heated at night, though some may differ. If possible, see if you can adjust the angle of the heat, or see if it can be moved to a further distance. Otherwise, try a lower wattage bulb.

Try some live foods, smelly and colorful help too.

As for an illness or RI, you might want to keep them separate for now. Are there any other symptoms? Do you have a UVB light?

[steve]

just saw the new post (i am a slow typer)... the nighttime heat lamp, is it one of those special colored light bulbs? if it is, you should not use it.

[sonyj]

In your first post you said you have a UVB bulb across the top of the tank and a heat lamp but you are afraid it will boil them in a small tank. The heat bulb I'm using in the same size tank as you is a 60 degree regular household bulb and all I've had to do is adjust the distance away from the basking area to change the temp. 90 degree is the right temp for the basking area as Steve said and keep the water at about 78. And since you've read the stickies, you'll know that you can fill the tank with a lot more water and make your turtles happier. They love room to swim. And it will help the water quality stay better longer which will help the health of your turtles in the long run. Hope they feel better soon. Keep us informed.

[cam722]

To add on to what sonyj said.. if you have too little water, it will heat up faster. You mention water and air temp but not the basking temp. What is that? As steve said, hatchlings need the water temp around 78. Do you have a heater in the tank to maintain the water temp or are you relying on the heat light to keep the water warm enough. I know so many questions.. sorry

Have you tempted her with the foods mentioned under foods to entice eating http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition_2.html#entice_eating

So many people miss all the good info in the main website .. there's tons of it there.. Keep us updated on how she's doing

[marsspyder]

Question: since they are hatchlings are you sure you are able to tell them apart? Maybe Larry is still not eating.
no its melissa, "shes" a yes,"hes" a res, bigger and darker green with a different shel;l pattern

How long has it been since you suspect Melissa has eaten? im not sure theres another in this are, im going to call around tonight to see if i can get them in,
the vet is a herp vet, but i think hes more a lizard specialist

im not sure about basking temp, although im pretty sure its 85 and up, liker the air9thermometer only goes to 86, yes i know i need to fix that, and im going to try a household bulb....

the water has stayed pretty constant with the uvb bar across the top, 77-79

i tried the gammarus(sp) and thats what she was nibbling last night and im going to try some others, like the tuna and would she go for live sea monkeys(brine shrimp) its on the list

[sonyj]

... the water has stayed pretty constant with the uvb bar across the top, 77-79...

A UVB bulb doesn't put out heat so it wouldn't have any effect on your water temp. Do you have a heater?

[cam722]

Do you keep the lights on 24/7? That's not a good thing. Turtles need a day/night cycle. If you don't keep it on 24/7 how are you keeping the water temperature constant, fluctuating temps is a sure way to get a sick turtle.

There's no way to know what sex your turtle is at that size unless you'd gotten them from a breeder who sexed the eggs by the incubation temp. So you may end up switching around names

[marisa]

If it gets really cold and you're concerned about keeping the temp up at night, you could use a red heat lamp (does not interfer with the sleep cycle, but be careful to monitor the temp.) Or, is you're using a submersible water heater, cover a good portion of the tank at night to help trap in the warmth from the water.

The foods you want to feed your turtle are good as treats, but the pellets should be a staple supplemented by other foods, including plant matter.

[marsspyder]

How long has it been since you suspect Melissa has eaten? a week but shes eating now(gammarus and arachinis(i know thats not the right spelling, the floating water plant she made a beeline for it as soon as i put it in the tank, which is good...i have been using reptomin as the staple of their diet, but i was trying to get her to eat something, anything! and shes eating plants now and i put a few shrimp and a few sticks in.

thank you all so much!
im going to go search for that bulb now
ill keep you posted on my little greenie
amy

ps as for the names, if larry's a girl, ill tell everyone its name is laramie but melissa may end up just being mel

before i was talking about the vet in response to the eating question...sorry about that i was in a hurry

A UVB bulb doesn't put out heat so it wouldn't have any effect on your water temp. Do you have a heater?
i dont have a heater, but i check the water temp morning when i turn on the lights, after school(around 4) midnight(after work). the lights turn off around 9pm and go on about 9am. everytime i check the water is within 2-3 degrees, about

it was a reptibulb(purple) but ive done away with that, and am searching my apt for a regular light bulb, a suspect i really was making my turtle unhappy with the lack of proper basking. but even with the purple bulb, she seemed to be moving a lot more, i checked the temp on the basking spot with the purple light and it was like 100+ i could have killed them! ill never ever do that again

so off to find a nice white bulb...i think my boyfriend has one in his lamp...

[marsspyder]

ok i have a 60 watt plain white bulb in a clamp lamp over her basking spot(a foot or so) and shes swimming a bit more and has her eyes open a lot more. she even hopped in the water when i was setting up their basking lamp and went careening toward "the turtle behind the glass"
im so stoked that my baby is eating!!! i saw her eat again last night when i went to check their water temps(its always right around 78 even at night but i check anyway) with a flashlight and i saw a tiny turtle nibbling a shrimp! and it was melissa! cos larry was on the other side of the tank napping.
my goal today is to get her to eat pellets, i can soak them in tuna juice to entice her right? and that wont compromise any nutrition?

amy

[sonyj]

Sure, you can soak any of her food in tuna juice that's been packed in water (not oil) including some veggies if you want. I'd do this until she's eating well (maybe a few days) and then wean her off the tuna soaked ones. That's how I got my baby to eat at first also. I used the shrimp treats as well to entice mine to eat and cut those out gradually adding more pellets each time in their place. Good luck.

[marsspyder]

ok, well i have the plain bulb on the spot during the day now and she seems more active, she'll jump in the water once in a while, still spends a ton of time on her bridge. also now if i put her in the water shell swim around and not some back to her bridge immediately. every time i either put her in(1-2 daily) or she hops in, i make sure theres a nibble of something to eat for her and oddly enough, i put in 2 tuna water soaked sticks right by her on the bridge and she ran from them...then hopped in the water and started eating larry's plain stick... i dont get her...
but she is eating things now, not as much as id like, but she is eating.
and larry is a pig, and has rearranged the plants to his liking, and eats and eats and eats...tomorrow when i feed them, im gonna take him out for a while and see if she'll eat more
thanks again
amy

[marsspyder]

yay! melissa and larry are currently vying for the position of tank pig!

i turn on the lights in the morning and feed them after about an hour, so they can warm up and wake up first, and when i went in this morning to feed them, they were both going to town on the plants and when i picked up the pellet bottle, melissa swam right up to the glass and started"dancing" and staring at the bottle. i then put a few sticks on each side of the tank and they were both going crazy on them

im so excited...
thanks
amy