General Care Discussion :: Spasms pulse-like on her neck and head?

[tringlee55]

I've been observing that my turtle tends to make little 'pulse-like' spasms randomly, always while basking, on her neck and head. Is this normal?

I have uploaded a couple of videos so you can see it.


The most visible moment is on the first video at 0:15
You can see how her necks contracts and shakes her head as well

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

Did you change the water recently? How long has he been doing this? Is the water dechlorinated? What is the height of your UVA / UVB lights above the basking area? What is the temps of the basking area and water temps? I am just asking these questions to help eliminate possibilities is all.

[tringlee55]

I changed the water one week ago approximately, when I first watch her do it was about two weeks ago but she probably has been doing it before too, I don't think the water is dechlorinated (is just tap water), she doesn't has UVA/UVB lights because she is getting direct sun light, the temperature is at environment temperature (now is summer here so around 25ºC during the day and 17ºC during night).

Concerning to her 'spams', is not a usual thing?

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

It is not usual at all and not common . I seen it in maybe 10 turtles during my time working in the exotic vet clinic with these symptoms. I have seen it in turtles in which the vet confirmed a parasitic infection and that was in maybe 3 of the turtles (2 i recall from the zoo, I believe they were donated) and the rest were neurological disorders that did not result in being fatal . Without having a exotic vet look at it in detail, This is one of the rare questions to put a answer too. It has no visual indications of a parasitic infection and regarding a neurological disorder, that can be started at hatch time, can be sparked by trauma scenario such as it dropped say out of your hands or someone else or something along those lines, or yes even following a improper water change like jumping into a ice cold pool.

Some neurological disorders can also come with age. I watched the video closely and focused my attention on everything from its activity, to its eyes, mouth to the back of the neck. From what I can tell and I am not a vet but a former vet tech, I do not see any indication at all of a parasitic infection which is great. The turtle is very much alert, appears healthy and though I do not see any other indicators, I would still have a exotic vet do just a general exam to be safe. If it is what I think it is , a neurological disorder, there will be nothing a vet can do and its not fatal. The vet most likely will want a fecal test done however to eliminate a internal parasite issue if any and yes if that is the case, the vet can order medicine. Those are your two situations. Besides that, your turtle child looks healthy in all regards

What have you been feeding him / her ?

[tringlee55]

Thanks for so a extensive and useful answer.

I took her to the vet about two weeks ago (I didn't know this issue right then) for a general examination, the vet said that she was completely healthy. So... maybe you're right and it could be something neurological cause by aged because she is about 25 years old.

However, when you say that you have seen turtles with this issue, did they make the head/neck movement all the time long? Because that is not the case with my turtle, she makes those spams for maybe 5-10 minutes, then stops doing it, and she begins again maybe 5 hours later, or even more. I mean, is not something permanent, is just from time to time. I'm making this aside because I have read that some turtles owners have also seen some head movements spasms-like when their turtles are basking.

I have been feeding her gammarus, pellets, and recently I have been giving to her some fresh fish too.

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

Thanks for so a extensive and useful answer.

I took her to the vet about two weeks ago (I didn't know this issue right then) for a general examination, the vet said that she was completely healthy. So... maybe you're right and it could be something neurological cause by aged because she is about 25 years old.

However, when you say that you have seen turtles with this issue, did they make the head/neck movement all the time long? Because that is not the case with my turtle, she makes those spams for maybe 5-10 minutes, then stops doing it, and she begins again maybe 5 hours later, or even more. I mean, is not something permanent, is just from time to time. I'm making this aside because I have read that some turtles owners have also seen some head movements spasms-like when their turtles are basking.

I have been feeding her gammarus, pellets, and recently I have been giving to her some fresh fish too.

You are correct, a neurological disorder will result once in awhile with these symptoms, sometimes once a day other times a couple times a day . I have seen them go several days without any symptoms then all of a sudden they re appear on their own. What lead to my observation on the neurological disorder was for the fact I did not see any other symptoms that were visual signs of a parasitic issue. I looked at its primarily artery in the video that was pulsating which this artery in particular stems off to the nerves and yes to major organs such as the heart ( no worries though at all and look at it as a humans simple heart murmur (skipping a heart beat) . This very well with the age of your turtle displayed to be a key factor as your vet agreed to it being non fatal.

I am very happy that your vet and I are in full agreement and I thank you for asking your question and being a member of these forums. Your red ear turtle is a adorable animal by the way and the foods you have mentioned are good.

[tringlee55]

Thank you, completely clarifying answers. Talking about her age, do you know what's the red sliders' life expectancy average? Almost every person I have asked about it, including vets, answers a different number, I have heard and read from 15-20 years to 40 or even more, so I do not know what's really the correct one.

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

The average for red ear sliders well maintained in health has been reported to be 20 years and I have seen some in the clinic older than this around the age of yours at 25 to thirty. I have also seen during my studies of reports of others living up to 40 years similar to what you have however 40 years and older is extremely rare in the wild and or in captivity. Yes, I agree with you fully that people shoot out those life expectancy numbers and even some vets do as well. My preference is to go to a exotic reptile veterinarian and not a regular veterinarian. It makes a world of difference. The clinic I worked at, Miami Springs Animal Clinic was both however specialized in exotics. Dr. Sudo (rest in peace) was a outstanding exotic vet and a breeder of many species of boas, pythons, monitors, geckos and turtles. He displayed and rotated many of these reptiles around in specialized cages in the lobby of the clinic for viewing as well as his home.

Vets who keep them in their own collections as breeders or pets in general have not only exotic vet training from school, but with their personal hobbies benefit their experience even further. Many exotic vets keep reptiles as pets, monkeys, exotic birds. A regular vet, does not have this experience in education and hobbies that results in them needing to do research before administering or ordering medications for reptiles in many cases but not all. I was blessed to take some vet courses leading to the profession in England being a duel citizen of America and the United Kingdom however I never finished all the years that resulted in me being a vet tech once I relocated back to the States. Over in the UK, they require more reptile training in medicine than they require here in the States which I found to be interesting. I have no clue why really what makes that different from Country to Country. But like I said in other post, you would not want a medical doctor of medicine working as a heart surgeon or a heat surgeon working as a orthopedic surgeon. So in regards to your question, Vet to Vet or person to person, would indeed give you different numbers in a life expectancy of a particular species.

[tringlee55]

What is funny about this is the fact that I went to a exotic veterinary hospital (opened 24/7) a couple of times, there are three different veterinaries working there, and of course they are specialized on exotic animals (turtles, spiders, snakes...), in fact, they do not treat 'regular' animals like dogs or cats, so you should assume that they are in fact specialized and they have good knowledge on the subject. Well, so to let you know, each one of them told me a different lifespan on different visits I made...

[Tampa Bay Turtle Fan]

lolol Yes I agree with you, they work in the same vet clinic, they all are exotic vets and I need to only assume like the clinic I worked at, that they spent time both on and off the clock together as many times the staff did with our boss. We had free yearly passes to the zoo for all family members, we all went to reptile shows together even far away which the clinic paid out hotel expenses and meals and we all spoke to each other on species all the time. Now with 3 exotic vets in one clinic, you would think that all their expertise combined and with the stated above areas, that they would all have the same responses lol. It seems that they are all in their own little worlds under the same roof.