Urgent Care :: New RES Owner with 3 sick babies

[kris10powell]

Hello Everyone

Easter Sunday we got a brand new baby turtle! A 3 weeks before one was purchased for my nephew from the same pet store; his turtle (wiggles) is very healthy and happy. I thought that they were cute and purchased 3 at a flea market one week after Easter.

Our turtle from Petland started looking lazy and listless and would not swim just Bask. The other 3 purchased at Flea Market were fine, playing and eating well. The lady that sold them to us the white water conditioning block; she said they needed it for their shells. I thought great idea...

After 3 days I got very worried about the lazy turtle; returned to the pet store. The young man there helped me with lighting and heating the water. Friday afternoon I got a frantic call from my 9 year old saying her turtle was dead; my husband got home a few minutes later and removed the turtle from the aquarium. Friday night I was examining the remaining 3 turtles and noticed odd whitish/brownish spotty bumps on 1 of them around the eyes and neck. I have been watching these babies continuously today. We went to the grocery store tonight next to the same pet store that the first 2 turtles came from for advice. I noticed the turtle tank was completely empty. I spoke to "Assistant Store Teenager" and discovered that their turtles had a bacterial infection and started dying. She put me in touch with the same young man who helped the other day since she was unfamiliar with the infection. He and I extensively discussed their habitat and nutrition. He proceeded to tell me what they used on the store turtles and how it did not work.

I suspect that the turtle I purchased at PetLand was infected and now has passed this to the other 3 turtles. Had I known of the infection I would have never introduced the other 3. He suggested the same vet I found through your list of vets. In the mean time I want to keep these cuties alive. I tried to take pictures of the bumps and noticed that 1 of the turtles was gasping and making noise. They wont eat. 1 of them won’t bask and the other 2 wont get in the water. All Temps are great: Basking temp 90 to 92, Water 75 to 79. Aquarium is 20-gallon with a 40-gallon submersible filter. I use the water conditioner and a product to destroy waste. Any suggestions?

[steve]

OK, don't use the water conditioning block. Don't use anything but a water conditioner. Up the water temperatures to around 82 and make sure it is constant. Keep the water as clean as possible. Make sure that the turtles that are basking do not become dehydrated. Ideally they should be separated, though they may be suffering from the same ailment(s). Make sure the vet knows that they may have respiratory infections and may need additional treatment.

topic moved

[kris10powell]

Thanks so much for the advice; at this point I feel so helpless. They are comfortable. Every hour i go and make sure they swim so they wont get dehydrated. The smallest one, "Olivia" I have taken out, she only has one small spot and still very active. She has a new setup at the "Tutle Mariott"...
The other two are much worse, eyes stuck closed, bumps all over; its just very sad. Thanks for the advise.

[steve]

You do need to get them to a vet ASAP. For the eyes, you may consider cod liver oil on the eyelids or eye drops from Zoo-med. Also try to get them to eat - anything smelly or live might be very enticing - try earthworms, shrimp and tuna fish.

[missibsu]

For future reference...when buying new turtles, they should be quarantined for 90 days. Good luck, and I second the vet trip.

[kris10powell]

Well we went to the Vet today! Definitely Vit A deficiency and Bacterial Infection. They injected an anti biotic and instructed me to soak each turtle in a diluted betaodine solution. They also suggested Vitamin A and D ointment for the Eyes. The one who was the sickest died tonight despite our efforts. The 2nd worst one seems to be fine and has not shown any signs of getting worse; it even tried to eat tuna fish today. The smallest one seems stable and the symptoms have not worsened and seemed to be improving. She has started eating the pellets but would not touch the lettuce and tomato. She did not respond to the tuna fish either. I am going to pick up shrimp in the morning and try it. I also need to provide a different light. The one we have does not provide the right uvb/uva light needed; it only provides heat. I took them out for sunshine today and plan on doing that every day from now on. Any suggestions for they type of light I need to buy? I also would like advice on guppies in the tank. We do have a couple and the female had little babies today.

[marisa]

Sorry to hear that the one turtle didn't make it. I'm not trying to second guess your vet, but how long did they want the turtles to be soaked in the diluted betadine solution? I would make sure they didn't drink any of it.

They can get Vit A from plain cod liver oil rubbed on the eyelids (I'm not sure about using a Vit A and D ointment you can buy in stores, unless perhaps it has nothing else added to it). If you get them a good UVB light, they'll be able to metabolize Vit D3 from the UVB rays. Some powdered calcium supplements (like RepCal) can also be bought with Vit D3 added, which would increase both the calcium and Vit D in the diet. If you get some, moisten any pellets with the powder and coat them with it and let it dry. Then give the pellets to the turtles.

For UVB lights, Reptisuns are probably the most reputable. You will still need that other light for the heat, though, as regular UVB lights don't give off enough heat to be used by themselves. An output of at least 5% is good. And they do have to be replaced regularly, about every 6 months. If the weather is warm enough where you are, bring them outside for unfiltered sunlight would be good. Keep them out of drafts and cool breezes, though.

Guppies are OK for them occasionally, assuming they can catch them. Since guppies are prolific breeders, you might want to keep them in a separate tank so the turtle tank isn't over run with them.

[kris10powell]

I do live in a very nice climate. We are on the East Coast of Florida south of Tampa. They spent around an hour in the morning sunlight this morning. We have a lake out back and the turtles in there bask each morning until around 10:30 when it starts getting to hot... The turtles seemed to enjoy the natural light; their eyes looked clear and vivid.

As to the Betadine solution: The vet suggested 15-20 minutes per day for around 3-5 days; using a fresh solution for each turtle on each day. We aren’t dunking them in it, just enough to come under the head, a smidgeon in the bottom of the cup. I would have to hold it sideways for them to drink... I also feel Vit A and D ointment is an odd choice. The Pharmacy next to my office was out of Cod liver oil so I got Vit A in soft gels this morning.

My husband has also warned me about the Guppies reproducing too fast. I am in the process of setting up a larger aquarium for the turtles now and plan on leaving the guppies in the smaller tank.

The A and D left a greasy film across the top of the aquarium. Any suggestions on safely removing the residue without completely dismantling the tank?

Thanks for all the information this site provides. I also love the forum; gives me a chance to give more detailed care to my new babies.

Kristen

[missibsu]

I'd clean the tank with vinegar...but that would require taking everything out. Short of that, so muscle powered scrubing. It's oil based though, and I think it's going to just spread until it's all taken apart.

[marisa]

How much are you putting on the lids? If it's a lot, you might try less and appy it sparingly twice a day rather than once. It probably would be absorbed better that way and leave less of a residue. Are they being left out of the water a bit to let it be absorbed? (Keep them out of drafts and breezes.)