Urgent Care :: Hi need help with my baby red's

[Raydian]

Hi my brother an i purchased 2 baby red ear slider's but due to a shipping error they sent me 6 lol this was over 2 months ago. Everything was going ok until 2 of them died and now theres one that's very sick. I named her Maeve shes' not eaten in 5 weeks. Shes refused eating everything i have put near her eyes look like there stuck and they wont open anymore. I had them in a 10 gallon tank and changed them to a large storage container. We clean the containers water 2 times a week and i use a fluval filter . We used to have a lamp with the special bulb that i saw that was recommended here on the site but i broke a few days ago wile we were cleaning the container. The waters temperature is ok and so was the light. What could the problem be what's up with her eyes and appetite? I tried taking it to different vet's but they told me that they don't attend this kind of pet...

[Nettle]

I'm so sorry to hear for those two turtles! Hatchlings are very fragile and only a handful ever make it.

Can you tell if they are breathing with their mouths open out of water? If they are then it's most likely a respiratory infection, in which the only treatment is a vet visit and antibiotics.

Swollen eyes can also be a result of Vitamin A deficiency (fixed by cod liver oil, carrots, and/or repti-drops) or a UVB bulb that's defective and harming their eyes.

What's the basking area like and what's the temp?

[TheComputerGremlin]

Where do you live? (Maybe we can recommend some vets, just tell us the nearest major city and state.)

Can you answer the questions given here?
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142

Also, can you post any pictures you can take, of your setup, of your sick turtle?

[Raydian]

How big is your turtle?
Well
1 Maeve 2”x 1 1/2” and is the biggest one she was one of the 2 turtles I originally had after Edan her tank mate died I sent for another male but received 4 turtles instead (shipping error). She’s the sick one she used to be very agile and active and she know’s who we are and loves to stare at us when were nearby.
2 Megui 1,1/2”x 1, 1/2” he’s Maeve's new boyfriend lol… they bask togheter all the time and they get on each others back and if not all 4 do a pyramid
3 Bree 2”x 1, 1/2” he’s is the most active one he loves it when I make it chace after pellets
4 Aravis 2”x 2” shes Bree’s girl these 2 are always near the fake plants and when they want to hang out they go visit maeve and Megui at the rock

This is the old tank set up

The sick one is the one in the corner and the one in the center is Megui

that's the gang in the Jacuzzi the 2 that are hanging on the plants are bree and aravis


How long have you had it?
I had Maeve and Edan Exactly 3 months when they arrived the were almost the size of a quarter and the other 4 the same thing.

What is the water temperature?
Not sure it’s written this way but here goes it’s : 86 F but todays been a hot day it’s usually at 82 F

Did you use a thermometer?
It’s just a penplax magnet attached to the outside of the tank not very accurate I suppose right?

Are you using a water heater?
Nope

How much water is in there?
Around 8 gallons

Are you using a water conditioner?
Yes it was included when I purchased my red’s it’s called reptisafe

Are you using any filtration?
Fluval 1 filter

What is the basking temperature?
Not sure to be honest how can I check this out?

Is there a basking light?
Used to be one but it was killed in a water change like a week ago

Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?
Yeah I also provided an area with plants that my brother and I call the Jacuzzi (they love being inside the circle the plants make)

What kind is it or what is it made out of?
It’s just rocks from our garden we put them in water with dish soap for 2 days before using it in the tanks (when Edan died Maeve refused to bask on it and I had to find a new rock and the same process all over again)

Is there a UVB light? My brother had a lamp with a special bulb he got at home depotbut im not sure if it was a real UVB light

What have you been trying to feed it?
I tried using dried crickets, carrots, banana, apples, oranges, grapes and I even tried baby food lol…

When was the last time your turtle ate?
Around a month ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
Used to be a 10 gallon tank but now it’s a storage container it’s 1’x3’ and it’s height is
½’

Is the tank near a window?
Yes actually but Puerto Rico is a tropical island and our room is always cool

Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?
Im not sure it’s in our room but when were here they kind of top on each other and stare at us lol… When we get closer they follow us with their heads and Megui let’s me fead her from my hands

Have you read the Basic Care section?
Yup saved me with the tank grovel I literally jumped and got rid of them seconds after I read about it’s danger to them. I also saw read about the eyes getting swollen and purchased nature zone eye drops but there of no use are these a good brand?

Have you searched the forums for similar situations?
Yup that’s why I got desperate and used baby food and dried crickets hahaha ... My brother refused to feed them live things specially fish

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?
Well to think of it yes I did observe something strange with her mouth she kept opening it as if she was having problems breathing my brother tried feeding her banana the first time we saw her with it opening it that way. I think that was a bad idea right?

Im from Caguas Puerto Rico and I tried taking it to a vet in our town but he was very sarcastic about it and dint give me the respect me and my turtle deserved. He even told me that It was easyer if i get another one because there cheap and replaceable….

After that I was very upset and decided to try and solve this myself because vet’s here attend larger animals like dogs cats exotic birds and horses.

[marisa]

Sounds like your turtle either contracted a respiratory infection or has a Vit A deficiency (the diet is not good) or both. You need to separate her from the others and give her her own set-up that's a little warmer than normal BUT not a water temp of 86F. The water temp should be consistent at around 82F; the basking area should be around 91F (you can check it by putting a reliable thermometer on the basking area where your turtle would bask, leave it there for about 20-30 min. and then read the temp).

Get some plain cod liver oil (you should be able to buy it in capsule form where vitamins are sold if you can't find a little bottle of it), put some on a q-tip and rub it on your turtle's eyelids twice a day for several days. If a Vit A deficiency is involved, the cod liver oil should help it. Try to get your turtle to eat---try smelly foods like bits of tuna or sardines. If your turtle can't see the food, hold a little in front of his nose in the water and see if he'll smell and take it.

Try to find another herp vet to look at your turtle. If you can't find one near you, contact a public aquarium, zoo or other facility that deals with reptiles and see if someone can help you (or tell you where to go).

Don't use soap to clean aquariums or objects that go into them. Soap leaves a residue that could be harmful to your turtle.

Someone else can address some of the other issues regarding your turtle(s).

[SpotsMama]

On the size of the turtle enclosure - your description says 1' by 3' by 1/2'. Is that correct? Turtles need 10 gallons of tank for every inch of turtle. You measure turtle size by straight shell length. Here's a link to an illustration on measuring (scroll down to the middle of the page):

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

If I understand your turtles' sizes correctly, then you've got about 7 1/2 turtle inches right now (2 + 1 1/2 + 2 + 2). That means they should be living in a 75 gallon tank, and I think their current enclosure only holds around 8 gallons.

Turtles need space because (1) they are very messy compared to fish and need a lot of water to dilute their waste plus a good filter or their tanks get smelly and unhealthy and (2) RES are very active, athletic turtles that love to dive and swim and are unhappy if they have to live in too small a space.

So...the bottom line is that your turtles need a lot more space than they currently have, and of course they are only going to grow and grow. A healthy female will grow to be 9" to 11" long. It isn't feasible to have one aquarium large enough to handle all the turtles if they live to adulthood and besides when they get older they'll just fight if they continue to live in a single aquarium.

I'd like you to give some serious thought as to how you're going to take care of these turtles over the long term. I know you care about them and want them to be happy and healthy. You have several options the way I see it:

1. You might find new homes (good ones, of course, with responsible, caring people) for some of them.

2. You could provide separate tanks for each of them. People who seriously love turtles and have experience with them keep multiple turtles this way, but it is expensive and takes some space.

3. If you can provide an outdoor pond for them, you might be able to keep all of them comfortably. Your climate in Puerto Rico would probably let you keep them outdoors all year round .

Food for thought over the long term. But in the short term, they really need a lot more space than they currently have.

On their diet, the main part of their diet should consist of high quality pellets. I don't know what's available to you in Puerto Rico, but here's a link to an on-line store that ships almost anywhere in the world that could provide good pellets. Top quality brands are Reptomin and Mazuri, but there are other good ones.

http://www.reptilesupply.com/

Here's a link on turtle nuitrition that you need to read carefully. A good, well balanced diet is one of the most important things necessary to keep a turtle healthy:

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

Finally, you should read through the other information on this site on turtle keeping. There's a goldmine of info on here.