Urgent Care

Posted: Tue Feb 15, 2011 1:13 am **My RES Turtle Is Kind of Floating ! HELP :(**

After my turtle drowned from yesterday. As I post from my last post, my turtle drowned by getting stuck and I immediately put him on the basking area until I came back from school he was swimming fine. But, I noticed that my turtle arms move well but it's legs are always all out and the tail too. Even when it sleeps. It doesn't want to eat when I put turtle food in front of him. Also, when it swims, his body floats to the top and he doesn't really use his legs to swim anymore. I think this was caused by him drowning yesterday. Is there anything I can do to help my turtle?! I searched online and they said it might be something about the respiratory part.

Please I need help. ! I want to heal my turtle ASAP.
And I can't afford to go to the vet

You might want to keep him dry docked for now. Can you answer the questions in this link? viewtopic.php?t=2142

How big is your turtle? 2 ½ inches
How long have you had it? September , 2010

What is the water temperature? 72- 80 degrees
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? About 5 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? No
Are you using any filtration? Yes

What is the basking temperature? I don’t know but, I put the light right on the basking area
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? It’s like foam, it’s magnetable.
Is there a UVB light? I don’t know. My dad gave me this light and he’s a fish breeder.

What have you been trying to feed it? Floating food sticks and turtle flakes
When was the last time your turtle ate? February, 13, 2011 before he drowned on February, 14, 2011

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 14 x 8 inches – Tank
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? 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?
My turtle got stuck and couldn’t breathe a day ago. I noticed him in the morning that he was stuck. I put him on the basking area. Now, he’s fine. But he doesn’t eat no more. Usually, when he sees me feed him, he rush straight to me. Now, he looks weak and his legs are out when he swims. As in, when he swims he kind of floats.
For more information, just look at my February 14 post about my turtle drowning. (viewtopic.php?f=4&t=28896)

He just had a tramatic experience, he needs time to recover. A uva and uvb light are different, unless you have a mvb which is both. I would make sure you have both, the uvb will help him greatly in his recovery.

Thank you

when I put my turtle on the basking area, it doesn't want to stay there though. Should I put him on the separate tank with a little water and put the light on my turtle?

You never want to leave them in little water unsupervised, they can flip over and drown, cause they aren't able to flip back.

Okay, do I force my turtle to bask or something? o_o

Dry docking (not the same as "forced basking") is just a safe, dry and warm enclosed area for your turtle.

The way I found to get my turtle to bask more:
(sometimes successful, sometimes not) is to lower the water temperature a bit (like 72) and then make the basking area about 10-12 degrees more so turt will be enticed to "sunbathe"!
Like I said, it's not always successful, but it's worth a try. You'll need to measure the light on the basking area with a thermometer, though. If it's TOO hot they won't be attracted to it, either.
I've read about using Pedialyte to restore a dehydrated turt...but I've never done it...so could somebody better qualified talk about this? :?:

What's dry docking?

its when you put them in something with no water at all. Like a box or container that is a tad warmer then house temp.

My turtle is acting normal now. Thank you guys (: !

Urgent Care :: My RES Turtle Is Kind of Floating ! HELP :(

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