Urgent Care :: Floating Turtle

[theRedEars]

How big is your turtle? 1.25 inches
How long have you had it? 72 hours minimum

What is the water temperature? 72F
Did you use a thermometer? Thermometer sitting in tank
Are you using a water heater? yes, submersible
How much water is in there? 10-15 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? Tetra Aquasafe
Are you using any filtration? Yes, Duetto 100

What is the basking temperature?
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Turtle ramp, acrylic
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Baby Reptomin pellets
When was the last time your turtle ate? never

I just got this little guy on Saturday and he seems to be floating with little effort. I have three of them and the other two swim normally. It's just this one turtle that sits at the ramp, basks, but hardly swims. And when he does swim, he floats unlike the other two, as if there was air in his shell. It takes little effort to stay afloat but much effort to swim and dive. Normal???[/b]

[robind]

How is he floating? Is he listing to the side, or is his butt up in the air? Depending on what he's doing, he may either have a respiratory infection or digestion issues. I suggest you collect a feces sample and visit a herp vet asap.

Also, are all three of these turtles in the same 10 gallon tank? You need 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle, so this guy should have his own 10 gallon tank for now. By the time they're adults they'll all need about 80 gallons of water each. Also you probably won't be able to keep them all in one tank for very long, as RES are very aggressive.

If you haven't already, please check out the articles on this site about basic care. http://www.redearslider.com/index_basic_care.html

[theRedEars]

Robind, it's a 20 gallon tank filled 3/4 of the way. I separated the one turtle and placed him in another container.

No, he's not listing to the side. Rather it's more of a balloon like float. Where if you were to place him in the center of the water column, he would float straight up upon release. The others seem to swim and dive further down as if to swim away from danger. This particular turtle either floats to the top or struggles to dive. Does that make sense???

As for the tank issue, I know. I've kept RES before and know the requirements. This is just a holding tank for observation. Plus it's easier for me to maintain now.

[steve]

It's good that you separated them, you should also bump up the water temps to 78F. As for the diving/floating, he sounds a little weak and I would focus on getting him to eat ASAP. Make sure he has easy access to a basking area as well.

[Keith]

I'm sorry to say this sounds a lot like my first Paula when she was sick. She was just sleeping all day, basking, not getting into the water at all. When we put her in the water, she would just float back up to the surface and tilt slightly to one side. We took her to a vet, but he couldn't save her. If I were you I'd get my turtle to a vet sooner rather than later.

[theRedEars]

I'm sorry to say this sounds a lot like my first Paula when she was sick. She was just sleeping all day, basking, not getting into the water at all. When we put her in the water, she would just float back up to the surface and tilt slightly to one side. We took her to a vet, but he couldn't save her. If I were you I'd get my turtle to a vet sooner rather than later.

Did the vet say what it was that caused it? Was there any kind of treatment the vet mentioned???

[Keith]

In my humble opinion I don't actually think that this particular vet is very good, because he gave some pretty shocking advice (like "turtles only need 2-3 cm of water in the bottom of their tank") so we never went back to his clinic. His diagnosis was respiratory disease and shell rot, and he asked us to come back several times for antibiotic shots. All in all her treatment ended up costing us more than 10 times the price of the turtle, and in the end she died anyway.

When we got another one (also named Paula) we intentionally chose a healthy and active one, but she too had a respiratory infection at one point and she started floating. This was very unlike her, as one of the reasons we chose her was her excellent swimming and diving skills. We took her to the vet immediately (a different vet this time) and with his help, treatment and medicine we were able to save her. She is now a strong, happy turtle.

If I were you I'd look for signs of a respiratory infection. Dry your turtle's head off with a soft tissue, and after a minute or two look for runny nose or eyes. If you pat a dry tissue on his face, you should be able to see any wet spots on it. I also find that excessive yawning is a warning sign, and head sticking up in the air with mouth open and eyes closed. Paula 2 had trouble breathing and sometimes we could hear a little squeak when she let air in or out. Check out http://www.redearslider.com/respiratory_behavior.html for more.

I was probably to blame for Paula 2's cold since the electric fan I had blowing on me in my home office also sent a mild breeze over to the tank. If your turtle has a cold, it is probably a good idea to investigate and eliminate the factors that caused it (like me moving my fan to another location) and to raise the temperatures of the water and basking area. Small turtles need a slightly warmer environment anyway. But do get him to a vet! Even if there turns out to be nothing wrong with him, it's worth it.

Good luck to you and your little one!

[robind]

Besides cooler temperatures and exposure to pathogens, what can cause RI in RES?

[marisa]

Stress or anything that lowers the immune system can contribute. It's a combination of factors, but especially if a turtle is not healthy/has a lowered resistance to disease, cool temps and breezes can cause an RI.

[theRedEars]

So, is 78F a good temp as steve mentioned? I was worried if I raise the temp above 75F, the turt may not want to bask. I have a 100 watt UVA alongside with a 20 watt UVB for the basking site.

I went to Petsmart/Petco to see if there were any meds or supplements I can give in the mean time. What do you all think of:

Repta-Aid Critical Care Formla: formulated to provide energy and fluid for malnourished and dehydrated reptiles.

Sulfa Dips: well, generally for bacterial infections

I did buy some TetraFauna Reptoguard and placed it in the tank. It supposedly helps prevent and care for common diseases for turtles.

[theRedEars]

If I were you I'd look for signs of a respiratory infection. Dry your turtle's head off with a soft tissue, and after a minute or two look for runny nose or eyes. If you pat a dry tissue on his face, you should be able to see any wet spots on it. I also find that excessive yawning is a warning sign, and head sticking up in the air with mouth open and eyes closed. Paula 2 had trouble breathing and sometimes we could hear a little squeak when she let air in or out. Check out http://www.redearslider.com/respiratory_behavior.html for more.

Okay, so I check out the nasal area when turtle was dried out for about 10 minutes (more or less) and no signs of wheezing, bubbles, or cough. I was observing all of them and none seem to have any of the RI symptoms. I hope I'm just being overly worried.

Is it normal for them to bask more often than swim? Other than that, I'm just trying to entice them to eat. Well, two now, one eats like there's no tomorrow. The other two I've noticed seem reluctant to eat. What do you guys feed baby RES? I was thinking of getting some live worms/crickets at a local pet store. Or even get some frozen blood worms. What works best? (Guess I should redirect this question in the nutrition forum--see Nutrition Forum)

[Keith]

Well, if he's showing no symptoms of RI then that's probably not what he's got. Other people on this forum will be better than me at guessing what might be wrong if it's not RI. I can only really speak from experience. But I'm still concerned about your turtle floating. I don't think that sounds good. I've heard that some turtles will try to eat air bubbles from certain filters. Does your turtle do that? Is there any way you can think of which would allow air to get inside the turtle? You feed them in the water, right?

I'd raise the temperature to 78 if I were you, just to be safe. It certainly won't kill them; in fact it would speed up their metabolism which could make them more keen on eating. Soaking pellets in tuna water also seems to be a common trick to induce eating.