Urgent Care :: Panic time?

[taanddean]

Yertle got his new home today and immediately we had a disaster. He CLIMBED straight UP about 6-8 inches, wriggled thru a small opening in the top, and lost his balance, I guess. The first thing I heard was THUNK! He'd fallen about about 12" to a ledge, then bounced off of it I guess, and another drop of 12" to a linoleum over wood floor. Not much give to that floor, but a little. He seems to be fine, we let him walk around the floor before going back into his tank. He was scared to pieces, but walked fine, so no broken legs, I guess. No shell damage. He landed on his belly--no cracks, chips or anything, top or bottom. Beak/mouth/face seem fine. Not a trace of blood anywhere.

Internal damage is my worry. What do I watch for? How likely is it from a fall this high? He's not realy active this evening, but this late at night, that's normal. This happened about 90 minutes ago.

By the way, Yertle's about 5 1/2 inches long.

Thanks!

Tammy

[steve]

There's little chance of internal injury because the shell absorbs most of the impact. Check for sensitivity around the limbs and keep an eye out for any symptoms.

[taanddean]

That's great news. I'll be watching him carefully, but it sounds like there's good chance he'll be okay.

Now if I can get my heart to quit pounding.....

Thanks!

[steve]

I know... we think of our turtles too often

[taanddean]

The goofball is trying to climb out again!! I think I have it 'turtle-proofed' now tho.

I'll send you an update tomorrow. And thank you so very much much!

[taanddean]

Yertle is still active--we got him out today and let him roam around the house for a few. But he's still off his feed. He refused breakfast. I gave him a half a mealworm and he ate that, but won't touch his Reptomin sticks or anything else. His stools have been fine until today, but with eating so little, there is no stool.

He still acts a little 'shaken' from the fall last night, but I think you were right--I see no signs of injury and no symptoms of anything wrong internally. He just doesn't want to eat.

At what point is this dangerous? Any ideas? I offer food at the regular times, and when he doesn't eat in 5 minutes, scoop it out. Stress from the new tank? But he was off his feed for a day or two before that.

Or is this just a turtle thing that they do sometimes? Just to torment their Mommies?

[steve]

I'd keep him in the tank and handle him less for now. He might just be a little stressed out from the new tank and the fall. Did he eat in a separate feeding container before? Did he bask?

[taanddean]

He's back in his old. cramped glass tank. This morning, in the new Rubbermaid tank, he wouldn't come out from under his ledge-wouldn't move AT ALL. We put him back in the glass tank, and he was immediately better. Moving around, getting on his ledge, and ate 4 or 5 bites of red leaf lettuce. That's the first thing he's eaten in these last few days, except for a small amount of mealworms. I had changed brands of sticks, and am going to WalMart today to get some of the old brand. Maybe he doesn't like his new sticks? He definately doesn't like the new tank.

Could that be what all this was about? Was all this about a pickey eater that is afraid of the dark? (He really acted scared this morning.) Could it be that simple?

"Turtles will make you crazy" is the conclusion I'm coming to.

[steve]

I don't know how or where those tanks are setup, but that is pretty odd. It was only a couple of days however, but I guess it was a big change for him to quickly get accustomed too. What type of basking area do each have?

[taanddean]

The new tank went in the same spot in the living room that the old one was. The new one sits about 18" lower than the old one, but when the basking area and the rest of the "upstairs" were finished, it would have been almost the same height. The basking area that we have now is a plexiglass 3 sided box with a ramp going up to it, and a roof. (Roof? Yeah, he tried to use it as a ladder and climb out, so we had a roof attached to prevent that.) It hangs on the end of the tank. It worked well when he was small, but now needs to be replaced. The plan was to replace it with a 1' x 39" (The length of the new tank) area of grass added to the attached to the long side of the new tank. Obviously, that didn't happen.

Maybe I need to hunt for a larger glass/plexiglass tank rather than as dark tank? He just really seemed to hate the dark tank. We'd tried to this once before and he did the same thing--ate way less than normal and hid. That attempt lasted 3 days and we gave up. This time, when he quit eating completely, well....I got scared and 2 days was enough.

Yertle has always been in glass and has always been the centre of attention in the house. (Tv and computer are always where he can see them, etc.) Maybe "Where'd everybody go?" came into play here?

Or am I just bein' an ol' worry wart? (I do tend to do that...) Maybe I should have just let him tough it out and he'd adapt in his own time? Stress + not eating had me really scared, I guess.

Still I see no signs of anything wrong after the fall. Hooray!!

The algae problem seems to have stopped for now. Also hooray!

I really do appreciate these comments more than I can say--we're so new at this and so horribly ignorant and do adore Yertle. I really want to do the best I can for him. You've been a big help!

[steve]

So you have an ATBA? They can be pretty picky about it, though if it has a good ramp then they get used to it. I would probably need to see a picture of it to get more of an idea about what can be done.

[taanddean]

MAJOR sigh of relief at my house today. Yertle ate his breakfast. Oh BOY did he eat! I fed him a smaller than usual amount so I didn't shock his system with a 'food overload' after so amny days of fasting, but I think the problem is solved. Go figure--nothing changed, he just decided it was time to eat. But HOORAY for Yertle!!!

Thanks for help and moral support!

[steve]

Good to hear! Is he still in his old tank?

[taanddean]

Yes on the tank. Crowded and cramped, but happy and eating.

Starting new thread tonight in "Habitat" about the tank. Maybe someone has an old one they'd sell? Still searching locally, but all I've found are $300 and up. Owch!

[steve]

Craigslist will have the best deals. Petco occasionally has $1 per gallon tank sales (up to 55 gal) too.