Urgent Care

HISTORY:
I got Spartacus as a gift seven months ago from my boyfriend. He was very healthy. Ate everything, basked etc. I went out of town a few months ago and left him with a friend. I came back to find him with swollen shut eyes, not eating and not swimming.
There are no specialists here so I took him to the SPCA, first time they gave me vitamin A... Didn't help.
Second time, another vet told me he had gone into hibernation! In summer!!

The vet i took him to before, told to give him Ampoxin antibiotic... Did that (with difficulty) and there was little development. She told me to give it another course as well as a multivitamin drop...
He's gotten much better, opens his eyes and swims a bit but still expels mucus and gapes.
And now 2 weeks ago i noticed that his shell has become soft and rubbery! The vet told me to give him some calcium and D3 supplements... I also keep him in the sun for an hour a day (if there is sun.. its monsoon time.) I've ordered a uvb lamp online but god only knows how long it will take.
My questions are:
1) Although the RI seems to be getting better, is there anything else I can do to improve his condition?
2) Can anyone from India tell me where to find a uv bulb? I've tried everywhere in my city!
3)How long is it possible to keep him on these supplements till the uv bulb arrives? Will they help?
4) Any other tips on what i can do to improve his condition? He is getting better but still...

How big is your turtle? 2 inches from top to bottom of shell
How long have you had it? 7 months

What is the water temperature? 28C
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? half way up
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? Right now around 35C
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? flat rocks piled up
Is there a UVB light? No

What have you been trying to feed it? He won't eat... I tried dried fish, i mash up some pellets with pedialyte and force feed him, he spits up most of it.
When was the last time your turtle ate? 2 months ago, he actually ate on his own.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gallons... going to get a bigger one soon
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? yeah, its in the living room because of some construction work in my room

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? he doesn't bask much, stays put most of the time

I'm sorry for all the questions, I'm just really scared and feel like I'm at the end of my tether! The soft shell really freaked me out... :oops:

Thanks in advance!

Hi, can you take him outside for some sun? And try giving him soaks of 50% pedialyte and 50% water. Try some live prey... a worm or a minnow (hold it by the tail and let it wiggle) for instance.

Hi, Thanks for your reply! I put him in the sun whenever I can but the problem is that its monsoon season and its usually really cloudy or there is pouring rain... I'll try the minnow thing, I tried a worm, he just chomped at it and spat it out. I'll definitely try again though! I'm giving him supplements like the vet said (orally). The pedialyte solution is added to that, do you think I should give the soak as well?

If you try an earthworm, cut it into smaller pieces. Sometimes the movement of the pieces in the water makes them more apt to try to eat. I'd have the pedialyte in the water you feed him in. That way when he grabs for the food, he'll ingest some.

Yeah, ok I'll do that... I'm getting two/ three feeder fish tomorrow for him, hopefully he'll eat! I feel bad about putting them in there with him but his wellbeing is more important to me...

Ok, I put in 2 guppies and 2 goldfish, he seems interested in playing with them, they seem interested in nipping at his tail... I put in some of a tubifex worm cube for the fish to eat, he ended up eating that... Weirdo!

Well at least he's eating

It's good he's eating something, but I really would not encourage him to eat the tubifex cubes. Many tubifex worms are not considered to be clean (and they're not that nutritious). A long time ago, I put part of a cube in water and watch little creatures swim out of it.

Aren't tubifex those little red stringy ones? I had a friend that had them breeding in her fish tank, sometimes instead of feeding the fish she would just stir up the gravel and watch them eat the worms

The cubes mentioned above (and what I'm thinking of) are made up of dried and compressed tubifex worms; they're tan in color. They really cheap to buy, and turtles love them, but nutritionally, they really aren't that good.

I'm not familiar with what live tubifex worms look like or if growing them increases their nutritional value.

Yeah, its those freeze dried types... I don't think they offer much more than protein but at least its something, I can always get him to try other foods as long as he's eating. He also ate the fish food pellets that I put in for the fish, I tried chopping up the turtle pellets and putting them in with the fishy ones but he would spit those out. I think I'll get a different brand and try. If that doesn't work then I guess my turtle thinks he's a fish. :lol:

Also he doesn't like to eat when outside his tank :?:

One of my friends has had turtles for a long time now and she suggested that I massage almond oil on his shell and then wipe it off, has anyone heard of this remedy?

Not wanting to eat in a feeding container isn't unusual---it's a different environment he's not used to.

What would be the purpose of putting oil on the shell?

Apparently the oil helps strengthen the shell, it sounds a bit strange so I just wanted to confirm. Is there some way I can get him to eat outside the tank, the tank gets really soiled?
He nipped at a goldfish today but I think he was just ticked off

. I got him a different brand of pellet, he seems content with it, I'm relieved! His appetite has suddenly switched to the old greedy style, this was right after I put in the fish... I wonder if that's related?
The UV lamp is finally on its way! It cost me a bomb but I'm happy

Things seem to be improving for my Sparty!

Since he is recovering, I would probably just deal with a messy tank since you don't want to add additional stress. I don't know what the oil would do and it's not recommended to put oily products on their shells. Basking, calcium and UV are the things the shell needs.

Ok, thanks!

I won't be putting anything oily on him and I guess I'll resign myself to the tank feedings.

Urgent Care :: Spartacus has a REALLY soft shell, recovering from ri

Who is online