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I took in my turtle from a family who didn't want her, I have tried to provide the best home I can, but I have never had a turtle so I'm learning. I am very sad right now b/c she is making little wheezing noises (like a whistle) and just this week i noticed she is swimming lopsided. she swimms very fast in circles and sometimes i see that her front legs shake very quickly??? the spinning has ben going on for 2-3 months i guess-i didn't know it was a bad thing until i looked up info on the res site from all the reading i've done it seems she has RI, I looked up info today on vets and will take her once i chk my finances to see if i can afford it but i wanted to know if the fast spinning could be due to something else? Also i got scared about 2 months ago because a big black "bag" acme out of her tail, it looked like a water balloon, but it was pretty big-like the size of a walnut, then it just went back in and i haven't seen it since??? she pooped right after that...i noticed that there is a questionnaire to fill our for help, soI will do that next...
Please help me anyone who reads this!!

How big is your turtle? 4-5 in
How long have you had it? 2-3 months

What is the water temperature? don't know
Are you using a water heater? no
How much water is in there? 25 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? don't know
Is there a basking light? uva reptile light
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? floating dock
Is there a UVB light? no

What have you been trying to feed it? she eats reptomin pellets, frozen mixed veg (peas-carrots-corn-dark greens like collard-kale) and krill now and then
When was the last time your turtle ate? this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 30 gallon tank
Is the tank near a window? to the side of my patio door
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? some hours of the day-my cat likes to sit by the tank looking at her

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?
Her shell is in bad condition, it is pyramided and the part above her tail is not "connected",it is like it never grew together? the people who abandoned her feed her nothing but krill ever since she was a baby when they got her-she never had a home with water to swim, no lights, they had her in a box container with a couple inches of water and that's it. she splashes around alot-gets right up to the glass of her tank and just "paddles" like she is trying to swim through the glass then she swims in circles VERY fast with her head to the side, she will literally swim in circles for hours until i go over to her tank and talk to her then she surfaces and just stares at me.

Well, the big black bag could be a penile prolapse, which would make your "she" a "he". Are the front claws short or very long? Long claws would make it a male.
Whistleing/wheezing plus lopsided swimming is not good, probably RI, get him/her to a vet......
In the meantime:
Tank temp (water) 78-82f
Basking: at least 90F
You did'nt say if or what she /he is eating, but until the vet visit, try to keep 'em warm, away from drafts.
As far as costs, maybe the family who gave 'em to you can help out?
When my turt had RI, it set me back about $150., thats for 1st visit, exam, x-rays, and meds.....

I agree with grey goose, i would call a herp vet asap

Try to get thermometers to keep control of the water temp. and the basking area temp. She's probably still getting used to her habitat, it takes time for her 2 get used 2 her tank.

OK Houston is still warm but you have to get a thermometer (digital is best) and find out what the water temp is. Both day and night. Gonna need a bigger tank, at least a 55 gal. I don't know about that brand of light, but the basking area should be about 90f.
Gotta get a UVB light! (reptisun 5.0 or 10.0) Position it so its at or near the basking area, aprox 8-12"
Ditch the frozen stuff and give her fresh romaine lettuce everyday.
Is it drafty by the patio door? If so, relocate.
If you are short on cash take him to the vet anyway, explain that you rescued him/her, he may cut you a break, or at least set you up on a payment plan. But don't wait too long, the quicker you get em to the vet the faster he'll recover. Good luck.

turtle expert this is more than acclimation it would be best if the turt got to a herp vet.

The sooner your turtle is treated by a herp vet, the better the chance of survival. If left untreated, you will not have happy results. Aside from that, I'd say the next important thing is the themometer. Temps that are too cold could be the reason that your turtle is sick, or was sick when you adopted him.

My turtle currently has an RI as well, luckily, he was too small for an xray so I was spared that charge. Hopefully, you can find a good herp vet who will work with you and your budget to help cure your turtle. The vet I went to had a policy of paying at least 50% before you leave, which is a lot better than a lump sum if your money is tight, lol which i know mine is. But, it is very important to go to a vet because RIs will not clear up on their own...
In the mean time, I echo everyone else's responses, bump the tank temp to help boost his immune system and keep an eye out for swimming difficulties/ fatigue, my vet told me if i see such things to lower the water level a bit.
Hope your turtle feels better!

well, i thought i had a "she" because her front claws are pretty much the same length and are not very long...but maybe it is a "he"-if it's not a "he", do female turt let that black thing out too? i read it may have to do with them needing to lay their eggs...which is somehting else i'm confused about. my turt is not lopsided like i thought, but she does "whistle" when she breaths sometimes and she does spin in circles, but i noticed she does this on purpose, not because she can't swim normally. she swims normally just fine, when she swims back and forth and down to the bottom of her tank and up again...etc. i did however get the vet info for vets in my area from the sticky here and will look into costs to take my turt. i am going to buy the uvb lamp and heater and thermometer today b/c her tank water doesn't stay warm, i chg her water every 5-7 days and she doesn't spin when the water is first changed, mybe b/c it is warm??

Riosgirl wrote:she swimms very fast in circles and sometimes i see that her front legs shake very quickly???

I do agree with everyone else about taking the turtle to the vet. I did it even though my turtle didn't have any symptoms or anything but I wanted to be sure he was okay when I got him.

However, your description of your turtle swimming around sounds to me like he's gotten familiar with you being the one who feeds him and is just begging for food. Have you noticed if the turtle is doing this whenever you are looking at him or near his tank only? Have you tried "spying" on him to see if he does it even when he doesn't know you're watching? I ask this because my turtle does the exact same thing any time we look at him, even if we are at the other end of the room. It's only because he's associated us with food and turtles are known to beg all the time.

yeah i am looking into taking my turt to the vet-i don't want my turt to be suffering. my turt splashes like that at different times-it gets real excited at feeding time but sometimes when the lights are off and no one is in the room it does it too, we can hear the splashing around and when we come to look it is just "climbing" the tank walls like it's try to swim through the glass, it likes to get on it's dock and dive off alot too...mostly it spins and spins until somone walks over then it surfaces to the top to look around at us...hopefully I can get it to the vet soon-we really have grown to love our turt alot.

just to lighten up the mood a little bit being that this doesnt sound like a life threatening situation for your turtle. Maybe this is your turtles way of begging, like everyone else is saying. Only that your turtle does tricks by spinning and diving off of his dock for food and maybe an applause or two lol. just to easy your worrys a little. My 2 turtles swim against the tank wall too very often. this is their way of begging for food.