Urgent Care :: I have a problem...

[TexasJagsFan]

If you remember a couple weeks ago I got a pleco. I have had no problems with the pleco and the turtle getting along. Last night my mom called saying the turtle had the pleco's tail in her mouth. I was away from home, but I said to keep an eye on them. When I got home the pleco was dead and showed no apparent signs of being injuried by the turtle.

Last night, I noticed the turtle had been on the dock for a while and her eyes were closed. That concerned me because she doesn't sleep on her dock, and I know their eyes can get crusted from being in the heat to long. I put her in the water and she opened the eyes. So I assumed she was just sleeping. Later that night, my mom feed her and told her she isn't splashing like she always does. So I went in and she didn't splash at all, she always splashes at feeding time. That bugged me. Then I was helping my mom set up a new fax machine, I noticed she went to the bottom and her eyes were closed, she never sleeps that early. I kept an eye on her and I got her to wake up and I gave her a couple pellets.

Today when I got home from football and basketball. She was laying underneath on the bottom with her eyes closed. When I reached in, she didn't open up her eyes, and barely moved. I set her on the dock, and she went back into the water under her own power and immediatly sank to the bottom and closed her eyes again. Right before that, she took her front leg and rubbed her eye. Now she is swimming around a little bit, but her eyes are closed and she is like swimming around blindly. She can't seem to keep her eyes open. What is going on, is there an infection, or is there something in the water? I did a water change Monday, added about 25 gallons of tap water, but I treated it with chemicals, it was a new never been used before bottle, but it said it treats the same as my old big bottle did. Would it take this many days to irritate her? I need some help....

Thanks

[TexasJagsFan]

How big is your turtle? 3 1/2 inches
How long have you had it? 2 years

What is the water temperature? 80F(Stupid Hot Summertime)
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? about 3-4 inches from the top.
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes
Are you using any filtration? No

What is the basking temperature? usually around 90.
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? Whatever that turtledock is that they sell.
Is there a UVB light? Yes, 10%

What have you been trying to feed it? Turtle pellets, carrots, romaine, anacarih(sc?), other items
When was the last time your turtle ate? Last night.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 55 gallons
Is the tank near a window? Kind of.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? No

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Above post

[TexasJagsFan]

Update....

I decided to get a plastic that we have that holds like 5 gallons. I filled it with Spring Water, and put her in it and put just the UVB bulb before. Now she is actually swimming around, her eyes are open now, but she is blinking a lot, and eyes don't look right, like they are open all the way.

My dad said he witnessed when she took a bite at the pleco, and he said she had a funny look on her face.

I also noticed the day after (Tuesday) that I had cleaned my aquarium, a lot of foamy bubbles appeared on the surface in an area, I thought it might have to do since the two filters and the bubble curtain all converge in one area, but I thought it was suspicious since it has never happened before.

Edit****
I've noticed 3 of the 4 feeder guppies left in my tank and no tails.

[sonyj]

I know that the pleco's skin is very tough/rough... sort of like sandpaper. Maybe she was injured in her efforts to eat/attack the pleco. Other than her eyes, are there any other signs/symptoms.

I also noticed on the post above that you answered 'no' under filtration. Do you not use a filter at all in the 55 gallon tank?

[steve]

I recently had something similar - my RES would close her eyes, tuck in and sink to the bottom... not to rest but something was bothering her eyes. She was not rubbing them and they appeared sensitive. This also happened about 2 days after a water change. She was like this for nearly 3 days and I've kept her in dry dock or shallow water for that time. Her eyes did appear a little swollen, but is almost back to normal. You can try those Zoo Med eye drops to see if they will help and if you have any tests to check water quality, I would do that too.

[TexasJagsFan]

Sorry, I have a filter rated for a 100 gallon tank. Then I also have a little one that hangs on the side.

I don't see anything else unusual except for the eyes. I checked her nose and I don't see anything. I use vinegar to clean the glass because I'm sure I read somewhere that you can do that and it won't harm the turtle. I also try and clean the glass good with water after I do that. The warning bells kinda went off because of the unusual amount of bubbles I have on the surface like a chemical reaction. The guppies tails are also missing and it looks like a rot is going on, not that the turtle is snacking.

I will keep her in the meantime in the plastic tub. Pretty sure I should completely drain the aquarium and clean everything in it. Am I right? Yes, I ran tests and the local fish store ran tests and the water is fine. Right now she has eaten, her eyes are closed every now and then, but then she opens them and keeps them open. I mean it was a immediate difference when I took her out and put her in spring water. I would love to but can't afford 55 gallons at 70 cents a piece, and probably around 30 gallons a week extra.

[marisa]

It sounds possibly a water quality issue. If you have city water, could something have been temporarily changed, like having the water mains cleaned, etc.?

Something similar happened to my painteds a few weeks back. One started to keep his eyes closed, and the others eventually started to exhibit similar symptoms. I did use the Zoo-Med drops as well, and also changed the water and cleaned the tank. The one that was the worst was put in a quarantine tank--and perked right up and has been fine since. The other two were fine for a while, then one started to close his eyes again. I cleaned the tank again, even to the point of cleaning the individual ceramic rings on the insides (obviously killing any beneficial bacteria, but giving everything a good cleaning took priority). They have been fine since the cleaning and water change...one of them had started rubbing his eyes as well, which has also stopped. I think in my case it was bacterial. Consistently warm water temps can foster the growth of bacteria, and as you know it can be very hard to keep the temps down in the summer.

If you can't use all spring water, could you mix some with your regular water and see how that works? I'd also keep an eye on the ammonia level.

Yes, do a very thorough tank cleaning and see if that helps as well.

[TexasJagsFan]

I know they have changed water sources lately, instead of using the lake as much, they are using the tailwater. Last month I know they put in new pipes on our street, but I don't know if that was water or sewer. I will set up my old 5 gallon tank tomorrow and put in my dock and little side filter.

I will start on the full clean Friday. This has been a real bad week, I've been busy with sports, VBS, and my friends dad has a massive heartache and I've been at the hospital a lot lately. What do I use to clean? Just hot water or anything else? Anyway to keep the water temperature down? The ammonia level was fine when checked today.

****Update****
Once again it seems like she can't keep her eyes open, she has been shelled up for a while now. She is starting to scare me really bad. I think I'm going to take her to a vet tomorrow. Found several places that treat reptiles. Coould the death of the Pleco, and the disapparence of the guppies tails be linked to whats wrong with the turtle?

[marisa]

If her behavior's starting to change again perhaps a vet visit is in order...

Can't say about the pleco's death or the missing guppies tails, but if you think the tails rotted off, something could be amiss with what's in the water.

When I cleaned, I used vinegar on nonporus substances, things like ceramic rings I manually cleaned with q-tips on the insides and rinsed them numerous times in hot/warm water. If you can put them out in the sun to dry and let the air hit them, that would be good, too.

You could try the Zoo-Med eye drops as well. Petsmart and Petco both sell them.

As for keeping the temp down, I have used frozen bottles of water (the smaller ones), putting them in the tank and changing as needed. Recently, however, I've been keeping chilled gallons of water in the fridge and doing partial water changes as necessary. I'm also dumping in ice cubes (I keep trays of them for this purpose). They melt really quickly if the temp is around 80F.

Let us know what the vet says.

[reptilegrrl]

I notice that your post says you are using a water heater- why? The temps are very high already. Was this a typo? If not, you can take the heater out.

Until I started the pond, I used Reptisafe to treat the water for chlorine and chloramine. If it is some chemical in your water causing the irritation, that might help. If it is bacteria in the water, you might benefit by doing a very thorough cleaning and then adding beneficial bacteria, such as Turtle Clean, when you do a water change.

To keep things cool these days, I started freezing bottles of water and floating them in the tank. They last about an hour. When they are thawed, I swap them out- the thawed one goes back into the freezer and a new bottle goes into the tank.

[amazingcc]

Could it be that your fishes have fin rot? In that case the water would be severly contaminated (might NOT show up on test strips!!!) and it would definitely be bad for your turtle.
How long was the dead pleco in the tank? Dead fishes decompose really fast, and he could've also been a partial culprit.
How big was he, btw?