General Care Discussion :: she's gone, she's gone....what went wrong?

[nick]

this is a 2 part entry:
1) isabelle died this morning, age 5 months. last night, for the first time, i noticed her 'yawning' frequently. she had been pretty inactive for a few weeks, mostly basking, but i had thought this was because she had gotten quite fat.....she was still eating some. when i came home late last night, she was lying at the bottom of the tank...i brought her up and she was limp, except for raising her neck and opening her mouth.....brought her to a 24 animal hospital, they gave her an antibiotic shot and remoisterized her, but felt she was really on her last breaths.....came home,put her back onto the dock and lamp. when i woke up i check her, and she was in the same position, but lifted her head and yawned when i touched her....i made an appointment for a vet re-check, and right before we left she was dead.
aside from being obviously depressed, im wondering how something could come on so fast...i suspect it was an RI. yesterday she was eating and even swimming abit.
2) My other baby RES is now alone, and seems quite sad. he keeps swimming around and checking the dock for her. ive changed the water, gotten rid of the gravel, and im wondering if getting a replacement turtle is the best option? also- whats the best source for getting another RES? i dont want to buy another chinatown one, and the petco ones are too big.

10 gallon ( getting bigger) , filter, water heater, heat lamp,water temp 78-80...all proper setup

thanks
n

[jenaero]

Sorry about your loss. Sounds like you did everything you could. Reptiles hide illness quite well, and very often by the time they show symptoms it's too late.

I suggest you focus on taking the best care you can of the one you have left. Even if you got another, you'd have to quarantine it for 90 days to make sure it doesn't have any illnesses/parasites that could be passed to your turtle so there's a whole new setup there. Then when you introduce them they may not even get along so you'll be stuck with 2 setups.

[missibsu]

I second that. While it may appear that your other turtle misses her, turtles aren't really social animals. Your other turtle will do fine without her. Did you do a complete cleaning, or just exchange the water? There could still be lingering affects in your filter or any residue leftover if not scrubbed completely. I don't know what the chances are, but I wouldn't risk it.

Sorry for your loss! Keep us informed on the other one though!

[nick]

yes, ive read that they are not social creatures, but they did spend a lot of time with each other, often holding hands!

[steve]

Sorry to hear this. Do you know what antibiotic shot your vet gave her? Do you know how she might have caught a RI?

[nick]

i dont, sorry....it didnt seem to help too much. she perked up a bit in the cab back, but that was it

[Rush]

Uh oh, my turt is showing similliar symptoms. I though I was just being paranoid, but maybe there really is something wrong? Ooohhhhooh..... >_<
(s)he "yawns" frequently, underwater, and while basking... though, nothing else seems wrong.
Please tell me I'm being paranoid!

Oh, and one other thing. This morning I saw Her/Him basking but it's front feet were freaking out. Don't know if that's another symptom, but I thought it was weird. Heh..

[missibsu]

Do you mean that the feet were sticking out all the way around, not resting on anything? That is normal when basking.

Not sure about the yawning bit, I have never seen mine do that. I have a tendancy to over react...I don't want to alarm you. If you are really concerned though, a trip to the vet is always an option. You can also up the water temp a few degrees for a boost to the immune system.

[Rush]

the feet were shaking, at first I thought there was an extremely annoying itch on his head or something...

[marisa]

I'm very sorry to hear about your loss, Nick. A turtle can be ill and it can take a long time for symptoms to really show. By the time they do show and you know something's wrong, it can literally be too late. Any change of behavior (such as being inactive for a few weeks if this was not how your turtle had behaved before) is often a warning sign that something is not right.

It would be good to clean out the tank well to help keep your other turtle healthy. Give the one you have the best of care, and keep an eye out for any unusual symptoms just in case. Your turtle will adapt to being by himself. Again, I'm sorry...

Rush, when you say your turtle yawns "frequently," exactly how often do you mean? Occasional yawning under water is not uncommon. When you say his front feet are "freaking out" while basking, do you mean twitching? Turtles will do this while basking (my turts do all manner of gyrations). It means he's getting a little warm. Mine usually go back into the water after they've been doing this for a while.

[Rush]

When I say "frequently" It means, more than usual. I rarely see him yawn. I was watching him for like... 15 minutes, and he yawned about four times. And when I say "freaking out" I guess it could be twitching. It was the first time I saw it happend.

[nick]

the yawning isabelle exhibited was slightly disturbing- she would stick her head out, bulge her neck out and open her mouth quite wide for around 2 seconds.

[Yayita]

Sorry for your loss, I'm sure your other turtle will be just fine. My turtle was also bought from China Town. I guess I'm lucky nothing happened and it's been 3 years now. Not to mention she nearly died of starvation and dehydration before I rescued her.

Take Care

[Spookster]

the yawning isabelle exhibited was slightly disturbing- she would stick her head out, bulge her neck out and open her mouth quite wide for around 2 seconds.

You mentioned that you removed gravel from the tank. Was the gravel small enough to fit in her mouth? If so then it is possible that she swallowed a rock.

[nick]

its possible that happened a few months ago as there was a period of inactivity and no eating for her, but i just wanted to be safe