General Care Discussion :: Worried about my RES

[Karcharias]

Hi, this is my first time on this site.

Basically, I'm a 16 year old RES owner that's had his turtle for about 6 years, since I was 10. She is about 7-8 inches in a 40 gallon tank, yes I know that's not ideal, I'm planning on getting a 100-120 gallon tank this month with christmas money. When she was younger, I must have been like 10-11 at the time, one of her eyes got pink and shut, and hasn't opened since. Also, I've read that female turtles lay eggs without a mate, and I'm worried because my 6 year old turtle has never done this. She doesn't seem to be in pain or anything, she's a bit scared when I pick her up, but she's active swimming around.

I don't have a proper basking spot for her, I've tried all the commercial docks but she just sinks to the bottom, however I placed a few bricks under one and it stays up, but she can't quite climb it, so I put her on, but then she only stays on a few minutes.

My question is, should i be worried that she hasn't laid any eggs yet? And is there anything I can do about the eye? It's been years, and my mother tried eye drops at the time, but nothing worked. We also don't have the money to take her to the vet, but I'm trying to get a job so I can. Does anyone have any advice?

EDIT: I also feed her a mostly protein diet, I've tried feeding her lettuce but she rejects it, carrots as well. She's eaten a few raspberries recently, and she eats Mealworms, Shrimp, Pellets, and Cranberries.
Today I got a vegetable clip and Romaine lettuce, and I plan on clipping the lettuce up in the tank so she can eat it as she pleases. Any advice on her diet?

[ljapa]

The fact that you are planning to spend Christmas money to upgrade the habitat and are on this site asking questions like this shows a commendable maturity. And, as the father of a 15 year old, I speak with conviction.

As the keeper of a female RES just under half your turtle's age, I've done lots of research and asked lots of questions about egg laying. No, you don't have to be worried. Apparently some lay regularly, some lay sometimes and some never have eggs. No one seems to be able to point to any rhyme or reason. Plus, having eggs can be stressful for some turtles and their keepers, so consider yourself lucky.

As to the eye, I can't comment. I'd think if it has been this long, there may not be much that can be done.

For basking, if she can't climb up, you need to make some type of ramp. Even a piece of slate leaning against the bricks may make all the difference. Does she have heat and uvb above the basking area?

Search this site or Google for "above tank basking area" or ATBA. Basically, it's a platform above the tank for basking. This lets you fill the tank higher, for more swimming room and clears out the space the bricks take up for even more. I made an ugly one myself out of acrylic from the hardware store and superglue.

You may want to try harder on the vegetables. Too much protein can cause health issues. Check out all the pages on nutrition at

http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

Check out turtle Jell-O shots

viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17486

And consider tough love, aka only offering veggies for a few days.

Do you have pics? We love pics.

[Karcharias]

Thank you for responding to my question!
My turtle does have a heat lamp, I think it may double for a UVB lamp but I'm not sure, if not I can get a UVB lamp ASAP.

I will try the tough love diet like you suggested, I couldn't get the clip and lettuce today, but I have a two week winter break and plan on getting it in the next few days.

I've seen the ATBA's before, and I have two family friends willing to try and make one for me, but one of them just got injured recently and won't be able to do it for a little while. Neither me nor my mother are very handy, so we won't be able to make one ourselves, so it won't be immediate.

I took some pictures of my turtles shell and eye, and I'll upload them now, but I'm not very tech savvy so it may take an hour or so lol. Her shell isn't soft, and it doesn't look like other pictures of shell rot or anything, but looks kind of like it has teeny tiny white dots, like dry skin almost. I'll upload the pictures today.

Thank you for all your help so far, I was a little worried nobody would respond.

EDIT: I have the pictures, I'm really inefficient and made them all print screens, but here they are nonetheless:
http://prntscr.com/5itvsj
http://prntscr.com/5itw3i
http://prntscr.com/5itwdw
http://prntscr.com/5itwpn

I took some more but they're a bit too blurry to be useful.
Is the shell OK? What should I do if it isn't?

2nd EDIT: I'm worried about the white-ish skin on the top of my turtles head as well, that's been there a few months, is there anything I can do about that?

[Kansasslider]

I was a little worried nobody would respond.[/quote]

Your in good hands here! Skin could be skin fungus caused by not drying off/basking. I'm not good with skin problems so I will have to let someone with more knowledge talk to you about that. Your turtles shell looks pretty good to me considering she doesn't bask. Don't worry if your turtle doesn't eat lettuce right away.You do need to figure out if the light your using is uvb or not. If not keep I'm mind you will need a heat and uvb bulb.

Welcome to the forum!

[steve]

For the tank, look into used tanks or a stock tank. Those are the best value next to free. For a basking area... some PVC pipe and ceramic tile will work. They are not the prettiest, but nothing will be stronger and it will last forever. They are also easy to make. I'd wait to do the ATBA on the 100 gallon.

I agree with ljapa about the eggs and eye. From the picture, there is nothing viable there. You are fortunate there was not a septic infection. If anything, always monitor that area in case it does get infected.

The whitish on the skin does not look unusual. I think it just occurs to some older RES. I'm with Kansasslider here, look into your UVB and lights. As for a vet, first find one you will be comfortable with. Keep some money tucked away, and see if you can pay on credit.

Good luck and welcome to the forum!

[Karcharias]

Thank you so much for all your help! And by stock tank, do you mean the 100 Gallon rubbermaid stock tanks?

[steve]

Yes, the most common is a 100 gallon. There a few other sizes and brands too. Some of the nice ones have a cabinet built around it, and you can use a preformed pond in those as well.

[Kansasslider]

I own a 300 gallon stock tank. The reason people like them is price and privacy for the turtles vs glass. My 300 gallon cost about $240.

[Karcharias]

Thank you so, so much for all your help! I've looked into a Veggie clip, I purchased one today, I got a bigger 55Gallon Filter along with my current 25Gallon filter, I bought some supplies to try and make a dock like I've seen in video's too, a 2x4 egg crate that I think I could cut down, and some twist ties to make it into a dock for Splash to climb onto.

Again, I can't thank you all enough for helping me, I really appreciate the help and advice

[Kansasslider]

Instead of twist ties you might want to use plastic zip ties. Sounds like your doing a great job!

[coreyjw34]

I was in your same situation a few years back, once you get a stock tank life will be so much easier.