Urgent Care :: Hatchling basking about 90 % of the time.

[almmaaa]

HI, all its me again. My turt that was sick and received meds and got better is now basking alot, hes eating not as much as the other one they are the same age I got them both at the same time and the other is way bigger than the sick one. Is this normal? For him to be basking soooo much? Any info will be great, sometimes I think his eyes might be big or swollen I dont know then i look at the others and they look the same as the others. Anything you guys think I could do for him here from home? Thanks again.

[SpotsMama]

Hi. When your guy was sick before what was wrong with him? Did he see a vet then?

There are several possibilities. How long have you had your turtles? How long has the little one been basking so much?

One possibility is that the big one is hogging all the food. Do they live in the same tank and do you feed them in there? Can you see whether the little one is getting his fair share of the food?

Another possibility in the case of a turtle that's not growing or growing slowly is internal parasites. A vet would have to determine whether this is the problem.

Another possibility, of course, is a respiratory illness. Sometimes when they've had this and gotten better, they relapse. Some symptoms are lethargy (basking a lot for instance), poor appetite, swollen or irritated eyes, breathing with the mouth open or yawning a lot, mucus around the nose.

When you're worried about a turtle's health, you should keep him warm, avoid stress, try to get him to eat, keep his water very clean, and separate him from any other turtles. If you think he's ill, you should go ahead and make an appointment to see a vet.

[marisa]

This is the same turtle that was on antibiotics for what was thought to be an RI a while back? Toward the end of treatment you had said that your turtle was eating again but that he spent a lot of time laying on a fake plant. Did he ever become more active?

What are the temps of the water and basking area?

It could be that whatever he was given didn't completely take care of his infection.

[almmaaa]

Thank you for your information. I trully appreciate it. My turtle passed 4 days ago. The water temp is 82 from floating on the plant she went to basking alot but she would eat, like 2-3 baby reptomin sticks. The day b-4 she passed I didnt see here want to eat. Thanks again I really appreciate it. She was in the tank with two other turtles a 4" and a 1 or 2" this 2" one i got at the same time as her. I also wanted to ask I got a new turtle shes about 4" this lady could no longer take care of her so she gave her to me she seems heatlthy, I have her in her own tank but would like to add her to my other turtles how long does she have to be isolated from them? Thanks again for everything.

[marisa]

Sorry to hear you lost him. If the sick turtle was in with the others, it would be a good idea to give the tank a good cleaning, and keep an eye on them, especially the one that you bought at the same time as the one that got sick.

A minimum quarantine period of 90 days is suggested before introducing a new turtle into the tank, and some suggest even longer. In your case, you also want to make sure the turtles that were in with the sick one haven't contracted anything that the new one could catch.

You have one 4" turtle, one that's about 2" and now are thinking of eventually adding a 4" turtle in with them. How many gallons is the tank they all going to be in?

[almmaaa]

Thank you for the info. I have a 60 gal tank. I may just leave the other turtle where she is at now. I like having a tank in the restroom looks nice :O). But I do not like cleaning 2 tanks. I want to get the python, seeing how long it takes to get the water out of the big one... AGain thank you for hte info.
Alma

[industrial_girl_2000]

Sorry to hear he died....

[almmaaa]

Thank you.