Urgent Care :: I just can't win.. my other turtle is sick

[turtle2000]

ok my baby is sick... I just started noticing these symptoms.. First of all my baby won't eat anything but he used to eat all the time... second he doesn't do anything anymore just basks or sits just below the water line with his eyes closed... now if I push him off his spot and he goes under water he starts to rub his eyes till they open then he swims back to a spot close to the water line and closes his eyes again... I bought the zoo med eye drops and have used them and it seems to work for a short period of time... after I put the drops in he becomes like his old self again and swims around the tank like he always did before interested in all around him but he still wont' eat but after a couple of hours or so he goes back to closing his eyes and not doing anything but basking or staying just below the water line.... those are his only symptoms... it might be the start of RI but I don't know if it is for he never opens his mouth above water and there is no mucus coming out of him at all.. I can't afford to take him to the vet right now... I am broke from buying my turtle his new setup and from taking my other turtle to the vet.. by the way for any who know my situation bob seems to be getting better as of today... I just can't win.. I do eveything I have learned from here and my turtle is still sick... bob was a special case for he was born unhealthy but this turtle was always active and ate alot.. I'm worried and I can't afford another vet bill...

[xsavingsaturdayx]

ok my baby is sick... I just started noticing these symptoms.. First of all my baby won't eat anything but he used to eat all the time... second he doesn't do anything anymore just basks or sits just below the water line with his eyes closed... now if I push him off his spot and he goes under water he starts to rub his eyes till they open then he swims back to a spot close to the water line and closes his eyes again... I bought the zoo med eye drops and have used them and it seems to work for a short period of time... after I put the drops in he becomes like his old self again and swims around the tank like he always did before interested in all around him but he still wont' eat but after a couple of hours or so he goes back to closing his eyes and not doing anything but basking or staying just below the water line.... those are his only symptoms... it might be the start of RI but I don't know if it is for he never opens his mouth above water and there is no mucus coming out of him at all.. I can't afford to take him to the vet right now... I am broke from buying my turtle his new setup and from taking my other turtle to the vet.. by the way for any who know my situation bob seems to be getting better as of today... I just can't win.. I do eveything I have learned from here and my turtle is still sick... bob was a special case for he was born unhealthy but this turtle was always active and ate alot.. I'm worried and I can't afford another vet bill...

Damn ,yeah i feel your pain.But you must not give up! Call as many vets as you can and explain your situation,and ask them if they can work out some sort of payment plan.Alot of vets will do this,dont get turned off by it if the first few vets you call say no,you must keep trying.If the zoo med drops dont work then its obviously something much more serious than irritation caused by chlorine.Bump the water temp up to 82 degrees and try offering pellets dipped in some tuna to try to get him to eat.Good luck and keep us posted !

[dudio]

dang turtle2000, that's tough luck
Good luck with him

[CountryGirl68]

Are you keeping the turtles together? Illnesses in turtles can be passed on to other turtles kept in the same enclosure. If one was sick and, even if you were treating him, you kept him with the other turtle, it could be the "well" turtle has caught what the other one had.

[kc]

okay here is a piece of my advice:
keep your water really clean and bump the water temperature to at least 28 celsius or around 85 degrees. then wait.

i just brought my turtle to the vet a week ago because she wasn't eating and slept most of the time and tried to bask even though there was no light. basically similiar to what you have described. i rose the water temperature to about 85. after about 3 weeks my turtle started eating again, like a pig; she's going to become a fat girl! so raise the temperature and be patient. could take weeks. at the mean time, if your turtle is not eating much you can give him/her 50% beef broth + 50% V8 fill in a container about as high as your turtle's lower shell and just put your turtle in there.

one thing VERY important: temperature.
keep us posted.

[ihartmyslyder]

Hey, one of my turtles had the same simptoms once all I did was make the temiture of the water a little hier & she was better in a few days!
I hope it works for you!

[turtle2000]

thanks for all your advice but none of that is working for I have done all that for a while now... country girl I haven't had the two in the same tank for ages now... kc, 50% beef broth + 50% V8 fill in a container about as high as your turtle's lower shell and just put your turtle in there. what an interesting idea.. actually I think it is a great idea and am going to try it... if he is in there he will eat just by opening his mouth.. thanks guys

[kc]

actually i didn't come up with that idea; my vet did.

i had done the same but i wasn't sure if my turtle ate any. actually when you mix those two things together it tastes pretty bad. i think my turtle was pissed off at me for a while when i put her in there. maybe that's what changed her mind to eat real turtle food.

[mkoby]

You can also do the same thing with Pedialyte.

[CountryGirl68]

country girl I haven't had the two in the same tank for ages now...

I hadn't been on for a few days and happened to come across the post where you mentioned you separated them. Sorry.

[turtle2000]

countrygirl I actually might have made that one a bit of a stretch it has only been about a month that I have separated them... Actually I might have over reacted a bit about the whole thing for the eye drops seem to be working my baby is eating again and seems to be almost back to his old self... I feel like one of those over protective moms that blows the smallest things out of proportion.. and I think bob is is back to his old self as well.. when he saw me today he got all excited and came to the glass and was following my finger around... he was begging for food and I fed him and he ate it all of it so fast... I'm happy now.... but I don't know if I should put them back together for it has been so long since they have seen each other.... but thanks everyone again.. I don't know what I would do without this forum I can tell you this I wouldn't know that much and they would still be in the 10gal together and bob would most likely be dead right now.. I have learned all that I know from here and have made changes for the better based on what I have learned here..

[cam722]

It never hurts to err on the side of caution.. It's good that you noticed quickly any change in behavior before it got to the point of needed a vet. I know once I found this website ( I had already had my turtles for a year) I became so paranoid. Ever little thing they did I was like.. OMG.. they never did that before. I'm sure it wasn't that they never did it before but more like I'd just never noticed it before and if I did, I didn't know it could be potentially dangerous (ie yawning).

Keep up the good work.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Glad to hear he is doing better!

Great ideas regarding the V8/beef broth or pedialyte "baths".

[CountryGirl68]

I think we all become overprotective of these cuties. Although they aren't like cats and dogs, I think they give us affection in their own way ... even if it's only when they beg for food!