General Care Discussion :: Getting a little concerned

[cncplp]

My red eared slider of about 4 years old is hiccuping?? I'm honestly not quite sure what to call it. Every 3-5 minutes he bends his neck to the left or right and seems to hiccup. There are no bubbles or discharge of any kind coming from his mouth or nose, he swims just fine and eats and everything. It started a couple nights ago and hasn't stopped. He also doesn't seem to swim anymore, he just kind of sits on land and basks until its feeding time, which has been his natural behavior for the past 2 years or so. I'm thinking maybe I should keep the heat lamp on all night instead of just the day time and get a more powerful water heater? The water temp is approximately 70 degrees. Any help would be appreciated

[steve]

Is he doing this while in the water?

[cncplp]

No, only while he is on land basking. I haven't heard him do it since I posted this, so 6 days since, so I have no idea what it could be. Maybe choking on food?

[steve]

Could have been, maybe took in too much air.

[josephkr]

My turtle does the same thing. Does yours snap his mouth when he does it? My turtle has done it for the last year or so, but lately I've noticed he does it a lot at night.

[cncplp]

Yes he does. He wont do it at night though at all. Really strange His tank mate doesn't do it at all though.

[JimmyLo]

In my experience, I've realized that when a turtle is suddenly basking a lot more than normal, it's cuz they are trying to fight off an infection or disease. It's for their immune system to flare up. Bring the water up into mid 80s °F. Keep the basking in the low 90's. That will have him swim more and keep and eye out for him sleeping a lot.

Also, be prepared to see a vet. Hopefully home remedies work.

[cncplp]

Ok, I figured I would give you guys an update. I bought a new heater for the water and put a bigger bulb in (luckly had one from a spare python tank) and have the water set to 85 degrees, and 90 degree basking spot. He is in the water much more now, and seems a lot more lively since than. Also, I haven't even heard him make that noise since I posted this, oddly enough *knock on wood*. Thanks for the advise Last time I had a scare like this was when his tank mate escaped for 3 days out of the tank somehow.

[Into_the_Mystic]

85 is a bit high.. maybe try 78.

[CactusJohn5]

+1 on the 78.

Matures turtles should be around 76-80 and hatchlings 80-84, give or take a couple.

The benefits to warmer water are that the turtle will be more active, the downside is they won't ever want to bask. So just watch and figure it out.