Urgent Care :: HELP WITH POSSIBLE SICK TURTLE

[ellie_sweetcakez]

hey guys..i'v flipped through the advice and answers on here to try and get an explanation but im not sure if i'v found as answer for my turtles problem..my RES used to eat as much as he could get his mouth around lol, but he doesnt seem to want anything to eat anymore? Im wondering if its because he ate too much? Do they know when to stop eating, do they have that common sense lol? Also, it could be the temp of the water (it could have been a little warmer while i was away) i guess..but you would think he would bask as often as possible if he was cold right, cept he seems to split the time between basking and keeping himself under the fake plants..i think his shell has a tiny spot on the top of it where it MAY start to peal but im not sure, i dont want to touch and pry at it..his shell seems pretty normal other than that..as far as my understanding of "soft shell" it seems his shell it pretty hard, not slimy..i want to take him to a vet but dont have the money for it..so im tryin to give him away because i dont feel i have the time to take care of him as much as i would and im an animal lover so i feel bad for him, my mom also doesnt want him in the house..so the best decision would be to give him away but theres no where around here that will take turtles, even super pet is refusing to accept my turtle..anyways any idea? thanks guys

[TinySlider2]

What is his/her set up like? How big is the turtle?

[ellie_sweetcakez]

tony has a large reptile tank i guess you could call it..hes a pretty big RES..theres always about 6 inches of water in the tank and hes got a large rock and some smaller rocks to sit and bask on..can a turtle get too much uv light and cause the shell to peal? or is that normal sometimes..cause i have heard that it is normal and other times is because of a sickness, but how would you tell? im wondering because i cant tell if hes basking less or not, i know that sounds weird its just that sometimes he likes to hide under the fake grass now just as much as he does bask, cept he hasnt been climbing up on the rocks as much he just sticks his head out of the water and places himself under the light 9in the tank) so it looks like hes enjoying the rays..i dont know what to do i feel helpless, i really dont have the money for the vet but that shouldnt be an excuse..i cant find someone else who will take him either..do you think i should keep him dry half the day and let him do what he wants in the water the other half of the day?

[cam722]

A turtle will bask less if the water temperature is higher. They usually bask more if the water temp is too high. Usually hot water will also increase a turtles appetite. They can't get too much UVB light.. and as they grow their skin and shell will shed, that is normal. Over shedding can be a problem though. He doesn't sound sick, so there's no need to dry dock him. That's only for very serious cases. It's stressful for the turtle. What is your setup like, that would help diagnose any potential problems or reason for odd behavior.

[TinySlider2]

Well I don't know how big a large reptile tank is. but 6 inch of water don't sound like much water. My husband and I have a 55 gal tank that is filled almost all the way to the top. RES need a lot of swimming room. Do you have a picture of your set up? If not you can tell us what it has. Like heater, filter, UVA/UVB light. Oh yeah and when they bask they need to be able to get completely out of the water. Like cam722 said I don't think he sounds sick either.

And cam722 if i'm wrong about anything I have said please correct me. I would hate to give someone the wrong info.

[cam722]

TinySlider2.. does it sound funny saying.. "My husband and I"??

Heck I'm no expert on anything.. but if I see an obvious error I'll let you know ..

but Tinyslider2 is right.. 6" of water isn't much at all. Pictures would surely help

[TinySlider2]

OMG I was thinking the same thing as I was typing that. But I can't help it I love to say it. I have a wonderful man, I am very lucky. (I love my K9 cop)

[ellie_sweetcakez]

hey again..thanks for the replies guys..the person i got the turtle from had it since it was a baby..and he said that my turtle couldnt swim very wel, im assuming because he was born in an area of low water..so i think he kinda got used to that because when i got him i put him in alot more water and he always seemed to be struggling to swim and get food and get onto the basking area so thats when i started putting less water in the tank, and putting him in deeper water for a while every other day..hes actually in about 10 inches of water (in his regular large tank) i measured last nite...so you think that its just the time of year that hes not eating and starting to peal a little?

[TinySlider2]

RES are great swimmers. Try feeding him some smelly foods like blood worms.