Urgent Care :: Spots does not seem to feel well

[MerryMenagerie]

Id have to check with my partner to be sure on the dates, but it's been at least three weeks since I had an issue with the heater. It was just in a weird spot in relation to the basking area so I unplugged it and moved it. Well, she has been fine this whole time. I never noticed anything that seemed off...she was eating, swimming, basking, normal. Then this morning when I came downstairs, she was resting on the bottom of the aquarium, and did not immediately start swimming and begging for food as usual. I also noticed she had not eaten all of the pellets I fed her last night. As I looked more closely, I realized the heater was not on, not plugged in. So I plugged it back in, thinking maybe she was just cold. However, tonight...she is not any different. She did eat her pellets from last night, they were gone. But I fed her a few more and she was not at all interested. She has been resting near the heat for the last few hours and I suspect that's what she did for most day.

I could take her to the vet, but it wouldn't be til tomorrow afternoon. I work in someone's home, and would have to check with them, and I would have to bring her in a small bin with her heat lamp all day til I'm off work. Should I try dry docking her tonight? Any other ideas? Should I take her to the vet in the afternoon?

[MerryMenagerie]

Took her out of the tank, and she's not happy!

[Kansasslider]

How long was the heater unplugged? How cold did the water get ? I'm thinking your turtle was just sluggish because it was cold.

[steve]

Do you have any idea of what the water temperature was? Is she still like that?

[MerryMenagerie]

She can't remember either, but it was at least three weeks, maybe four. I think the water temp was in the 60's. Last week we had unseasonably warm temps, which probably warmed the room a little, but I don't know if it affected the water much. It's now between 75 and 80. I kept her dry docked last night. I was only able to observe her a few minutes yesterday morning, and then for several hours last night. Both times, cold and warm water, she wasn't swimming much, or eating. But when I put her in the bin, with a towel and I left her basking light on her, she did not sit still. This morning, she was sleeping under a corner of the towel, but stuck her head out to look at me. I'm going to put her back in the tank and see how she does.

[MerryMenagerie]

I left her in the bin for the day, and when we got home, she looked ok. So I put her back in the tank, her head was pulled into her shell and she sank. I put crickets in, and she perked up, swam around, ate them. I also gave her ghost shrimp...I can see some in there, don't know if she ate any. She ate a few pellets, but left most of them. She's been staying near the heater since then.

[steve]

Eating is still a good sign. When was the last time the water was changed?

[MerryMenagerie]

I don't change the water, as in take some out, add more back in, because with the Sunsun filter, it is constantly evaporating, so I'm constantly adding new water. But I am planning to drain it, clean the filter, replace media, and refill this weekend. She ate a few pellets this morning, but left a bunch floating last night. Maybe she has lost interest in the pellets? I have not noticed her not eating them over the last month...usually she eats all that we give her and begs for more.

[Kansasslider]

Everyone's tanks evaporate water. You really need to do partial water changes. Do you check your nitrate levels? What do you feed your turtle other than pellets. And what brand of pellets?

[MerryMenagerie]

I understand that, it just seems to be at such a rapid rate because of the spray bar, which is really more like a waterfall...

I think right now I'm using reptomin pellets. Pet stores near me have a very limited selection. Ocassionally I give her a couple of crickets, last night was the first time I put ghost shrimp in there. I counted 4, so she may have eaten two, or maybe they were better at hiding. She does not like veggies. This weekend I'll try jello shots.

I have not checked nitrate levels recently. Would it help to have the water tested at petsmart or petco?

[Kansasslider]

About 2 weeks ago I switched all my turtles to Omega One and now they won't touch Reptomin. You could have it tested if I had to guess I would say the nitrate level will be high.

[steve]

The test would only be helpful if it is a drop-based, not a stick based. If you are only adding water, then you are leaving behind a concentration of nitrates and other invisible waste.

You should do partial water changes. The amount you do and how often depends on your measured nitrate level. We do water changes to remove nitrates.

Ammonia --> Nitrite is handled by your bio filtration. Nitrite --> Nitrate is also handled by your bio filtration. Nitrate --> Nitrogen gas (requires a lot of plants and a lot of time). Our tanks are too small to do this effectively so we just swap out a portion of the water column high in nitrates with clean fresh water.

[MerryMenagerie]

I started with zoo med, but she likes the sticks better. I did buy omega one, but petsmart stopped carrying it. Would you feed omega one over Mazuri?

[Kansasslider]

Never tried Mazuri so I can't comment on that. However I do believe they are both better choices than Reptomin..

[MerryMenagerie]

I'm going to order the omega one, since it's sticks.

She seems to be feeling better. I fed her a few more pellets tonight, and she ate all of them. She's swimming a lot, and I think she ate most of the shrimp. I can only see one now. Maybe she was too cold, and her body went into hibernation, and it just took a few days for her to snap out of it?

I don't know, I'll still do the water change, clean the filter, and change her food.