Urgent Care :: help - my turtle is going to die =[

[faithin_felix]

ok i have three turtles
only one of the three has this problem
his name is pebbles

pebbles would swim and stick his head out of the water and open his mouth and make some sounds, it sounds like wheezing, but i'm not sure. sometimes he would open his mouth but no sound comes out

he is about 2 - 3 inches and i had him for about 2 months
it has never happened til now, he is biggest out of the three and he seems to be eating fine.

he has been making these sounds for a 3-4 days

but just 10 minutes ago, i was by the tank
i saw him swimming around awkwardly, and at one point
his arms and legs did NOT move and he floated to the surface sideways and then swam towards the basking dock.

Does my turtle have RI?
Are vets expensive?

water temperature is 81

other 2 turtles are fine

just this one making noises..

[the_orphaned]

What kind of noises? you should isolate that turtle or it might infect the others.

[SpotsMama]

Could be RI. He's showing some signs. Symptoms are lethargy, breathing with the mouth open or yawning, swimming lopsided or difficulty submerging, poor appetite, swollen or irritated eyes, mucus around the mouth or nose.

I guess you know the only way to cure RI is to go to the vet and get antibiotics. The sooner he gets treated the better his chances will be. The cost varies depending on the vet and on the part of the country you live in. Call in advance and explain the situation and they should be able to give you a cost. If it's too high for you right now, see if they will let you pay it out over time.

You need to separate little pebbles from the other two. RI is quite contageous.

The water temp is fine for a sick turtle but a bit too high for the well ones - the temp for healthy little ones should be around 78 degrees.

Keep Pebbles warm, out of drafts, and avoid stress. His water needs to be kept very clean. It's very good that he's still eating - that means he's got some energy left. If he loses his appetite, it would be ok to offer him some special treats like a little tuna or some crickets until he gets well.

Good luck. I hope it turn out ok. Keep us posted on how it goes.

[faithin_felix]

ok, i'll seperate him right away but...where?
i don't have another tank
how long do i seperate him for?
how much water should i give pebbles?

where can i find a vet?
i'm in british columbia, canada
city of vancouver

what are drafts?


wheezing noises i think..

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Here you go: http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=370

You can buy a rubbermaid container and purchase a small heater and cheap filter for the time being, chance's are since pebbles is sick she probably got the other one's sick too. That is why it is good to seperate her ASAP. You seperate her until she get's better and fully recover's.

Draft's are cold breeze's. Like spotsmama said, keep her warm, and stress free. Vet price's vary. My rough estimate would be probably around 100$ to treat her (ROUGH ESTIMATE, CALL BEFORE YOU BRING HER IN)

[SpotsMama]

Here's a link for Canadian herp vets:

http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/canrepvt.htm

If you don't find one there, perhaps there's one here:

http://www.turtletimes.com/forums/index ... topic=4964

[faithin_felix]

that turtle is actually my brothers and he says with the money to cure the turtle, he can buy new ones.

but my turtle is in there with him, is my turtle 100% sick, will it heal on its own?

[DavidY]

Tell your brother to ... never mind.

Your turtle may or may not have caught the disease from the other one yet. The sooner you separate him the better his chance of survival are. If I were you, i would quickly setup a completely separate tank from your brother. With an attitude like his, he's going to wind up killing everything that's in there (or at least make them suffer a miserable existence).

[faithin_felix]

so 100% that pebbles is infected?

bubbles better be okay

[faithin_felix]

how should i do this???

3 turtles
pebbles
bubbles
flippers


flippers is fine
but now bubbles is swimming side ways..
pebbles is staying on the basking dock

how should i seperate them? !:(

[DavidY]

It sounds very likely that Pebbles (and now possibly Bubbles) has RI. Get a plastic container or tub with some clean 80 degree water in it deep enough so the turtle can be covered with water and keep him in there for now (make sure he can't climb out). Tomorrow, try to find something larger and more suitable that you can setup with a basking rock and a heat lamp. Then start working your way towards a complete setup with a heater and UVB lighting. Keep the water temp up around 80 to 82 degrees to help boost his immune system.

Edit: I forgot to mention to do this for the healthy turtle since the other two are sick and the tank is also probably contaminated. As soon as you can, get them all to a good herp vet.

[SpotsMama]

Someone should talk to your brother about the responsibilities of owning a pet. A person takes the bad with the good when he takes a pet. The turtle will give you brother hours of enjoyment but in return he needs to take good care of the turtle, and that includes providing medical care when it's needed.

If a turtle gets RI, a vet is really required to cure it. And RI is contagious so when one gets it the others frequently get it too.

Could you advance the money for a vet visit? Perhaps your brother could repay you over time, or he could do some chores or favors for you. Or could your parents help out?

[faithin_felix]

yeah i really don't know what to do!! all the shops is closed at 8pm
i have to move bubbles and pebbles to a tank
and flippers to a new tank
so i'll need to buy filter, another heat lamp, heater
but nothing is opened until tommorow
and i have an exam til 12pm tommorow, if i move them to a tub with water, how should i distribute my heater, lamp, filter?

edit//pebbles isn't eating
bubbles is

seems like all pebbles want to do now is get to surface and breathe

[DavidY]

you can keep bubbles and pebbles together in the original tank since they are both sick. Get their water temp up to 82 degrees. Move flippers into a temporary container for now with fresh clean water. Tomorrow you can worry about getting something a little bit bigger for flippers if you don't have anything big enough right now. You can use any clean Rubbermaid tub if you have one or you can put him in a tupperware food container for tonight.

You should probably keep everything in the turtle's tank the way it is for now. Flipper should be okay for a day or two in a separate container. What is the room temperature in your house? If you have a room that's around 80 degrees, you could just move flipper in there without a heater. Tomorrow, after your exam, you can setup something with a basking rock and a heat lamp. The turtle will be fine without it for a day or two.

If you can get them to a vet and start treatment, then this will only have to be a temporary solution. It would be best to get all 3 of them to a vet though just in case flippers is in the early stages of the illness and might show symptoms later. But for now it's important to boost their water temp a little.

[SpotsMama]

Goodness - you've got your hands full don't you! Since Flippers is in the best shape, put him in a big tub with some water. You need to put something in there that he can easily climb up onto to get dry. Put a towel over the tub. Put the tub someplace safe and warm and dark - like a closet or maybe the bathroom. He'll sleep there over night. Feed him and change his water in the morning before your exam then put him back in his safe spot . After your exam hopefully you'll have time to deal with all this.

Your brother really ought to be helping with all this. He has responsibilities as an owner too.