Urgent Care :: Coughing/Sneezing - Help!

[Kimberly]

I have two yellow-bellied cooters. I bought them back in February and they have been doing really well. Recently, the smaller of the two hasn't been eating as well as he used to and he's been spending most of the day sunning himself. I just noticed tonight that when he coughed/sneezed, there was what appeared to be tiny white bubbles around his mouth.

I'm right now trying to find a vet to make an appointment, but does anyone know what I can try in the meantime? Please help.

[jenaero]

Those are signs of a respiratory infection. Separate him so the other one doesnt get sick too. He will need a vet asap. I don't know what your setup is like or your temps but bump the water temp up to around 80 and the basking temp low 90s. Higher temps will help his immune system fight this. Typical treatment is done by injections by your vet. Good luck, and let us know what he says.

[Kimberly]

I've made an appointment with a vet. Unfortunately, the earliest appointment is Saturday morning. (This is the trouble with going to school in a smaller community... vets that take care of reptiles/amphibians are hard to find.) Anyway, I've done what you said - quarantined him and raised the water/basking temperature - but he still isn't eating. Do you know what I can do to help get him to eat? I still have a couple of days before his appointment and it really makes me uncomfortable to think that he might not be eating for those days.

[jenaero]

Generally they won't eat when they are sick. Don't worry about it. It's only a few days. Turtles can go a lot longer than that without food. Don't stop offering it tho. If he takes it, fine, if not, don't worry. You might also want to call today and tomorrow and see if there have been any cancellations...maybe you could get him in sooner that way. Good luck, and let us know how it goes <<<HUGS>>>

[Kimberly]

I was able to get an earlier appointment with the vet. In fact, I just came back from his office a few minutes ago. He gave me good news - there isn't anything serious with my baby (Calhoun). He's developing really well and his body/shell are strong. If anything, it might just be a slight respiratory infection (like you said). The vet prescribed some antibiotic drops to give Calhoun twice a day for about a week or so and suggested I try a different kind of food to entice him to start eating again.

And even better, the vet gave me the okay to put Calhoun back into his larger tank. Which is good, because the other turtle (Camille) seemed a little sad that her friend was missing.

Anyway, thank you for your advice and your kind words! It really helped, considering I was a wreck over my poor Calhoun.

[jenaero]

Glad to hear he's going to be ok