Urgent Care :: My Very First Respiratory Infection

[apondfortimmy]

After letting the two newbies sit in a dry tank (both for inspection and preparation of Turtle Island in the garage), I introduced them to the water in the big tank. Everyone was getting along for the most part and I was putting together the underwater webcam and testing it out when I heard the most awful, startling noise.

A sneeze. From underwater.
So I watched, and when Tina came close to the surface, she sneezed again. Twice.
Then I noticed she was listing to the left when she swam.

Got her out, got Ike out, and I put them into quarantine immediately.

I want to make sure I have this setup right, though. My mom works for a vet so any medication I might need she can get from the doctors on Wednesday, but until then, I'm likely just going to panic a little. Alright, a lot.
*UPDATE: Nope, my mom's vet office doesn't treat turtles. Crap.

Tank: 30 gallons (I know this is small but it's what they came in and it's all I've got at the moment. And it fits right into a nook in the living room that can be covered to give more privacy / less stress. We call it Turtle Hospital Nook.)
Water level: Maybe 20 gallons.
Basking Temp: 90 degrees
Water Temp: 80 degrees
Filtration: Fluval 205 Crap, the tank wasn't high enough for the Fluval to work properly. Rethinking this.
Food: I have some dandelion greens and some regular turtle sticks. They haven't eaten yet but they also just got to my house so they might still be stressed out.


Man, this really sucks. Ike is showing no symptoms but since he was in with Tina, I'm not taking any chances. Neither of them have mucus or leaking from their faces, and they didn't sneeze when dry in the tank.

I looked up all the other treatment threads and compiled it into what I have now. Am I missing anything?

[apondfortimmy]

Found a herp vet close by, and one all the way across town that does weekend appointments. Now it's just a case of timing (this weekend does not work at all; husband is going to be in the hospital Friday morning for spine surgery) - maybe I'll get to the one close by if I get the car in time. The reviews on this vet, though, are less than stellar in a lot of cases, so I'm conflicted.

Just found another one relatively close by that I could take the bus to. Now to figure out how to transport one large turtle and two kids without losing any of them.

Oh yeah, office visits run about $45 if anyone's comparing notes.

[apondfortimmy]

Aaaaand I have to get a new basking bulb at the store tonight. Two, actually. What a day today has been.

[apondfortimmy]

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[dumbork14]

hang in there! now on transport, find a box/container with a lid and put holes on it for them to breathe. make sure that they can't escape in the box. line them with newspaper, damp towels, old clothes. it's tricky to transport 2 turtles with difference in size, so maybe 2 boxes? check out the "how to transport turtles" link on the main page. also, try enticing them to eat again. with their immune systems down. make sure that they can get enough nutrients from their food. when my turt had RI, she became very lethargic and refused to it. good luck! my good thoughts are with you and your turts!

[steve]

Are you sure it wasn't just some adjusting from being out of the tank, and did the tank have fresh water?

[apondfortimmy]

The tank had just been refilled from the 50% water change (actually more like 80%) following the tetra easy balance fiasco.

Do you think it could just be that? I sure hope so.
She was swimming kind of lopsided though. I'll take pictures of her in this new tank once I finish making dinner.

[steve]

Yea, I would give a day or two.

[apondfortimmy]

Tina has been rather listless in comparison to Ike and the rest of my turtles. Ike has been up on the basking area, swimming around, doing stuff... Tina has eaten, though, and there are no sneezes today.

I'm still concerned because of how she's swimming - the previous owners said she never swam funny before.

I did get pictures but I haven't uploaded them anywhere. I need to cut them down to the right size and attach them; I don't want potentially sad pictures in my Pond album on Picasa.