Urgent Care :: some problem with my little res?

[concordia]

hello to everyone...my res (i suppose almost 2 years old), doesn't react as usual the last weeks..i always find it on its basking area when i wake up, but then he spends most of the day under the filter.. the environmental temperature is almost 25 degrees (celsius) and the water temperature almost 21 degrees. it has much place to swim, a basking area, a UVB lamp..the last 2-3 days it hasn't eaten at all..and during the last weeks it eats once in two days.i usually feed it with pellets, shrimps or mealworms.and sometimes with vegetables. Can anyone imagine what the problem is?should i worry?

[megcornell]

Your problem is that your temps are too cold. Turtles are cold blooded so their metabolism depends on the surrounding temperatures. Their water temp needs to be at least 75 degree F, while yours is barely 70F.
You need to pick up a water heater otherwise your turtle's lethargy can quickly become a very serious respiratory infection.

[joshr82192]

I HAD A TURTLE THAT DID THE SAME THING ONLY TO FIND OUT THAT IT HAD SHELL ROT WHEN I TOOK IT TO THE VET ESPECIALLY IF THEY BASK ALOT AND DONT EAT MY VET TOLD ME IF I EVER SEE IT AGAIN TO TAKE TO A VET SO THATS WHAT I WOULD DO IF I WERE YOU?

[concordia]

i put yesterday a water heater and now the temperature is 24.5 degrees (celsius)...let's see if he does better now...for the shell rot wouldn't i have some other signs?thanks a lot!

[SpotsMama]

Shell rot doesn't affect behavior except when it gets so bad that septicemia sets in, by which time it's pretty obvious that something really bad is happening to the shell. Concordia, in your case the issue is behavior not appearance of the shell. If you have concerns or questions about the shell, go ahead and start a new thread in the General Care section and show us some photos of the shell when it is dry.

By the way, bump that temp up to close to 26 (78 degrees fahrenheit). I'm assuming your turtle is young (less than 4" long) and therefore needs a somewhat warmer environment. Also, since he/she's been stressed by the cold environment, it might be good to give him/her that extra little bit of warmth for awhile.

[TurtleLover_S&B]

Yeah,you definately needed to raise the tempature.Well,glad you got the heater!

[concordia]

my res seems to do much better..he eats normally now.. probably the problem was the termperature.. thanks a lot to everyone!

[steve]

Glad to hear it!