Urgent Care :: Wierd Noises

[Wonwill]

So here's the deal, I started hearing a sound yesterday and just thought it was coming from somewhere in my room. Well I started hearing it again today and noticed that it was coming from my turtle, Stan. Well when he pokes his head out of the water he sometimes makes this strange sound that I really don't know how to describe. And, in case it makes any difference, he does it with his mouth closed. I just wanted to get some advice as to what could be wrong before I take hime to the vet, which would be the second time this month.

And here's the answer to the other questions:

How big is your turtle? I'm estimating about a shell length of 6-8 inches
How long have you had it? About a month

What is the water temperature? 78-82
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? I really have no idea, but it does have plenty of room to swim around
Are you using a water conditioner? I don't think I am
Are you using any filtration? Yes

As for the whole basking ordeal, there is none. These are actually my roommate's turtles and he decided to get them before we hardly had anything. And believe it or not, I'm the one that has to take care of them. And as of now I have to find a pet store that sells a basking light.

What have you been trying to feed it? Kaytee Aquatic Turtle food peblets
When was the last time your turtle ate? About an hour ago.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? It's a tank and I'm really not sure how big it is
Is the tank near a window? Yes, but do to a recent incident involving the turtles the blinds are always closed and the curtains always drawn.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? No, not really.

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? The only I can think of is that it started peeling immediatly after being treated for its first bacterial infection.

[marisa]

Welcome. He was at the vets in the past month for a shell/skin infection like a fungus or for something like a respiratory infection? He started peeling as in shedding scutes or skin? Medication could be responsible for the peeling...What had he been given?

I'm not sure about the noise from what you mentioned since you didn't really describe it (I'd like to know more about the infection he had), but, assuming he's now healthy, turtles have been known to make a kind of whistling sound when they're near the side of the tank. It's thought to be the air being exhaled near the glass (kind of like the effect of blowing into a bottle). If this doesn't sound likely, have you noticed any other symptoms like open-mouth breathing when out of the water, wheezing, bubbles/mucus from the nose or mouth, listing to one side when in the water? If so, these are symptoms of a respiratory infection.

If he's healthy, I'd keep an eye out for the development of other symptoms just in case.

I don't know what you mean by there not being a basking ordeal--he has no basking area? He really needs one--it's necessary for the health of his shell, along with both a UVB light and a heat light, which can be a regular lightbulb. (Put your money into a UVB light like a Reptisun and use a lightbulb for the heat for him to bask under). Insufficient basking under proper lighting will often result in shell rot as well as other infections. Basking area temp should be 88-90F. What's the water temp? How often is the water changed and tank cleaned?

I have to say it's admirable for you to take on the responsibility of caring for your roommate's turtle. You won't regret it--they are wonderful creatures. Why isn't your roommate more interested in his care?

[Wonwill]

He had some kind of bacterial infection that was growing on his legs and on the side of his head, which they had to clip off. It was his skin that was shedding. As for the medicine, I don't know what it was called, but I had to give him two shots a day. Apparently it was contagious and the baby one we had caught the disease and almost died from it, but now he's healthy too.

I guess you could describe the noise as slowyl pressing down on a squeaky stair. I don't think he's close enought to the side of the tank for it to be a whistle. He hasn't shown any of the sytems you mentioned, but I'll keep an eye out for 'em over the next few days.

Had I been the one that ordered the turtles I would have waited until I had all the materials, but that wasn't the case. I'm going to check a few more pet stores on Saturday and see if I can find the lights. The temperature of the water is from 78-82, most of the time it's at 80, and the tank is cleaned once a week.

My roommate was interested because the girl he was hanging out with had two of them, but now they never see each other and he's pretty much lost interest in them.

[<FiSh((]

if he went to the vet and is now recovering and you are takeing better care of him then befor. the sounds you could be hearing is a happy turtle. you might be 1 of the lucky few that have a vocal turtle. my turtle chomp likes to make a clicking sound when he is happy.

as for no basking area you really need to get him something. i would sudjest a flower pot turned up side down in his tank.

[staman]

From the sound you describe it almost sounds like the ribbet ribbet that a frog makes with his mouth closed. If thats the case you might indeed be one of the lucky few.

[Wonwill]

Well, here's an update. Stan seems to being doing just fine and he still makes those noises every now and then. So this school semester is coming to an end and I'm bringing all of the turtles back to my house where they will stay until I move out of the dorms at my school, which will be later next year. It's probably for the best that they stay there since they'll probably get better treatment. And tonight I went out and got a heat lamp, some better food, and stuff to put in the water to make it cleaner and whatnot; and so all of that is set up and running now. One of the only things that needs to be taken care of now is the size of the tank. I have three medium sized turtles (that's just a guess) and one baby one in a single thirty gallon tank. My roommate is going to get a heat lamp and all that and take two of them back to his house and keep them in the same sized tank as well.

There's a new problem though. I just noticed today when I refilled the tank after the drive home and put the turtles back in there that the baby one was swimming with a tilt. I don't know if that's because I had them all sitting out for a few hours (the drive home plus the time it took to get the tank ready again) and maybe he got too cold. That's the only thing that seems to be wrong with him. I plan on waiting a day and see if he gets any better with the new basking area and I got.

Also, it would be just plain rude of me if I didn't do this. Thank you for all of your replies!

[marisa]

Is the baby showing any other symptoms (excessive basking, open-mouth breathing when out of the water, wheezing, mucus/bubbles from the nose or mouth)? These are symptoms of a respiratory infection along with swimming with a tilt. Hatchlings are more sensitive to cold than older turtles, and sitting in the cold for two hours certainly could cause an RI. Is he still eating? If I were you, I'd separate him from the other turtles and give him his own set-up with warmer temps (water temp 81-82F and basking area in the low 90s. The warmth will make his immune system function more efficiently and help fight any infection. It's also important that the ambient air temp be warm, and if the room he's in is being kept cool (low 70s or lower), it would be good to cover a good portion of the tank at night to keep the warmth from escapting from the surface of the water (he needs a submersible water heater, as do your other turtles if it's cool where you are).

For future reference, turtles shouldn't be transported in the cold without some preparation, and not in water.

Do you have a UVB light for your turtles in addition to the basking light?

[Wonwill]

Well, after you suggested that it could be an RI I headed down to the vet the next day to get him checked out. The vet gave him a shot and gave me some more shots to take home that I need to give him every three days. Before I left to go back up to school on Sunday, I put him in his own tank with his own light. I came back today to find that he's recovering nicely and that my Mom has grown quite attatched with him. She comes in every so often and talks to him as well as feeding him from a spoon. And now that I have a one month break I can stay at home and look after them as well. As for the lights, they're both rolled up into one light, so I think that I'm set.

Thanks for the help!

[marisa]

This means you have a combination UVB/UVA mercury vapor bulb?

What food is he being fed from a spoon?

Keep us informed on how your turtle is doing.

[Wonwill]

Well since my cousin works at a local pet store and knows all aobut what kind of environment that turtles need, I went out today and got everything, and I mean everthing, that I could possibly think of that my turtles would need. A new 55 gallon tank with a stand, all the correct lights, a new and better filter, and some meal worms. My cousin was right there telling me all about all the different kinds tanks, filters, lights, and food.

I do have some good and bad news though. The good news is that my turtle recovered from the RI and is doing grand. The bad news is something that just really bummed me out though. After I put him in the new tank and watched him swim around something I noticed that his mouth looked a bit weird. So I picked him up so that i could get a closer look. It looks like like the front part of his lower mouth is completely missing. This could explain why he had trouble eating. I had noticed a while ago that part of his mouth was black, but I thought that was part of his bacterial infection that he had. I don't know how it could have happened though, unless one of the other turtles (all of which are like 4 times his size) did it. He is now able to rip his food apart and eat it with some difficulty. By difficulty I mean that pieces of the food sometimes shoot out of where his mouth should be. He also swims around a lot and is active, so he seems healthy. I'm still going to take him to the vet on either Monday or Tuesday, hopefully Monday though.

The food I'm feeding them is ReptoMin.

[steve]

Good luck and keep us updated.

[Wonwill]

Yeah, I realise this is kinda late and I should have updated you guys sooner, sorry about that. All four of the turtles are A-Okay. I have two of them back at my house and the other two are at my roommates house. I just thought I'd let all of ya know! Once again, sorry it took so long!

[Pam]

I just read over these posts and was really bothered by the fact you are keeping a baby turtle with larger turtles. This is very dangerous and could be what happened to this poor babies mouth. They could have bit it off. Are you still keeping them together? Please separate them if you are. You sound like you really want to take good care of them which is great but it is very dangerous for babies to be kept with larger turtles. Let us know how that baby is doing. Do you or your friend have it?

[diyabolo]

Wonwill - I assume the vet told you, but the black coloring and piece of the lower jaw disappearing was mouth rot, and it's a secondary infection resulting from a systemic infection (like RI). We have a non-RES who got it, and we caught it and he's fine, and the hole is healing up. When it's gone, there will be no more discoloration. If you still see any black whatsoever around the wound, swab it daily with diluted Iodine and leave the turtle dry for 5-10 mins afterward.

As for the "sound" topic that started this thread, adult RES's nails squeak loudly against the glass when they swim up against it. This had us wondering for a while too.