Urgent Care

Posted: Tue Dec 20, 2011 11:09 pm **just got a baby res her shell looks funky**

Ok so there's a bit of a story to this little guy..so I've wanted to get a turtle for my daughter for about a year..of course I didn't do my homework..yes I know, mistake number one..I go to the pet store at the mall. They tell me that they are not supposed to sell the turtles as pets, but for educational purposes only...they did make me aware of the immence threat of sallmanlla..I know that's spelled wrong..so I thought about it for a few minutes and decided id be the one taking care of the little guy and so long as I take all prper care this would be okay..I did ask the important ?'s like what is their special needs(knowing its not like a cat or bird) thy told me all he needed was the little tiny bowl with the palm tree and a little tap water..and. as a special bonus if I bought food for him he came with a garuntee that he'll live and if he died I could get a replacment..so I get him home and he doesn't eat for 3 days, I get concerned, do my homework (better late than never) find out he's so lacking in everything he needs..well I go out on a mission to get him a home suitable till I can afford his permanent residence..got him a herp habitat and filed it with distilled water ..I know its not enough water but its only temp, so..his eyes start to swell I talked to a vet and gave him his vitamins..now I'm noticing his shell is not nice and smooth almost look like its curling..he eats like a champ now that his eyes are better and basks a lot under the uvb and heat lamp..I have a water heater but thhe watr temp won't go above 72 degreeshis basking temp is almost 90 degrees, other than the size of the tank and amount of water what am I not doing right I alwways strive to take the very best care of my pets and he is no different

The shell curling can be an indication of diet and habitat problems. Is your RES getting any calcium in his diet? How long have you had him? How big is the tank and how much water is in it?

All bad, sad to say..its a herp hab and he's only got 3 gallons..I've only had the little guy 2 and a half weeks..the habitat I have him in is a very temperary situation till more money becomes available..I've talked to a herp vet and had him on 2X's daily vitamin a treatments for his eyes cause he wsnt eating and his eyes were swollen shut..now he gets the vitamins once the week..I also soak his reptimin pellets in cod liver oil to help sup, the vitamin a and the calcium..but I n otice they don't soak well and the oil comes off..I'm at the store right now getting a cuttle bone to put in his tank to help with that..I I was stupid in not doin my homework, but the petstore lied when I asked about his special cares..I know he was a malnurished little guy after I talked to the vet still looking for a good multivitamin I can give him

Here are a few pics of his habitat..I added a gal and a half...do they drink that much water in a week? Cause he originally had 3 gal in there but the water was really low and I was worried..do I need to still change his tank water by half even with me adding new water to the existing tank water like I just did?I have a monthly reminder on my phone set for it..I do have a filter and was told that every one to two months I needed to change out half the watersrry just curious anyways back to the pics I have 2 diff. Thermometers one that's for the air temp being kept at 86-90 and a submesable one showing water temp at 72-75 the vet said I should leave the heat lamp on at night too but turn it down a little to keep air temp to about 75 at night..I aded enough water to bring the water lvl up to the basking area in the hab. For right now I can't afford to go out and get his permanent home so I'm really trying to find an ineexpencive way to make his life quality better till I can I am open to all suggestions and thoughts

Take out the rocks for now and leave it bare bottom. Debris will get stuck in the rocks and lower water quality. Do you have a filter yet? Probably not with just three gallons. How often do you change the water? He's very lucky you found him and trying to get the right habitat for him. What kind of food are you feeding him and how much? How big is he? Water heaters are not expensive especially for such a small amount of water. Heat helps the immune system. So basking at 90 is good but we have to try and get your water to 78 - 80. That's probably why the vet told you to keep his heat lamp on. Do some research to see if there are any heaters that can be used with a plastic tank. Good luck with him, he's lucky you bought him.

Yes I do have a water filter its. One where the water lvl just needs to cover the suction intake..I haven't yet actually changed his water yet only added new water to what was left in the tank that's why I was curious about how much they drank maybe the water evaporated it has been a week with lighs on round the clock with the filter I have I was told to do a 50% water exchange every 1to2 months I'm choosing every 1 month just to ensure he has the best envirement possible tithe biggest concern I have for him right now is his shell and I'm putting in a cuttle bone tomorrow(have it soaking right now) and I feed him reptomin baby..I soak the pellets in codliver oil for the xtra nutrition but like I said they don't soak up much and the oil comes off in the water making a film is that gonna hurt his eyes?and is there any better way to give infant res a multi vitamin..just till he gets better and what kind of vitamins are there avail. Over the counter that would be safe for him

So I took the rocks out and the water was so filthy I had to let the filter run for a while..still running actually I put skipperdee in a 6 cup cassarole dish till the filter does its job..I measured him at 1 1/4 inches lengthwise down his shell excluding head and tail..pics are of him in the dish and the habitat as it is now...how long should I let the filter run before I put himm back in? I only ask cause the water in the dish is cold and I'm scared hell get sick

I put him back in his tank and now he's swimming frantically...like he is trying to escape..I gave him a minni krill treat for beng a trooper through the whole thing but he's still goin nutswhen he come up for air he pants and then goes on another frantic swim along the face of the tank..is he just freakin cause I changed stuff? Cause I took out all the little plant too since there isn't anymore rocks to wieght them down

Well checked on him and feed him he isn't freakin out now that I put back up his privacy wall..the water looks so much clearer now. Should I be feeding him more he acts as though he's starving..I give him 4 pellets once the day in the morning when I wake up..evryone says only give the amount equal to his head but since he was malnurished should I give him more till his shell starts lookin better? I do give in and give him little treats (3-4minni krill evry other day) I don't plan on doin that forever but want him to put on just a little weight

I am certainly no expert, but you probably need to be doing partial water changes weekly. As for how much they drink... no clue. I'd say that when the water level goes down it is more than likely because of evaporation.

Really? Even with the filter and adding the fresh water every week?

Yes you should be doing partial weekly. With only 3 gallons I would be doing a full every other day. Turtles are a lot more wasteful than fish. This habitat you have for him is fine for temporary use but should be changed as soon as possible. Turtles should have 10 gallons of water for each inch of shell. Your turtle can get up to 12 inches in shell length when full grown. They should have a filter rated for 2 - 3 times the amount of water you are filtering. So for fifty gallons you would want a filter rated for 100 - 150 gallons. Filter ratings are for fish not turtles. Some turtles have poo the size of small dogs. Any filter you have in 3 gallons of water is just moving the water. There is too much waste and not enough water to develop a good bacteria colony. Whenever you change the water in this small environment dry dock the turtle in a warm space. Let the water sit out for 24 hours so the chlorine evaporates and put carbon in your filter to get rid of chloramines it will also allow the water time to heat to room temp. I'll give you an example of my tank and it's only adequate for now and will need to be upgraded. I have a 4 inch turtle in a 55 gallon tank filled to the top An ATBA (Above tank basking area). It is filtered by a Rena XP 3. The Rena is rated for a 175 gallon tank. I still do 20% weekly water changes. I clean the filter every month or two. For Christmas or any other holiday I would ask people for gift cards to a pet store. Water can look clear but be dirty. Look on the habitat forum for pictures and look at the res care sheet. That'll guide you on the right direction.

Wow that's a lot of water changing..thanks for being specific that really helps..cause. I'm obviously new..and really wanting to do well by him I have looked at all the forum pages and how to's on this site that's y I joined the site cause its like a skipperdee handbook but really wanted to talk to real turtle owners cause they have great ideas and imagination..I know owners will experience behaviors that vets won't catch and from their experience can at least tell meu when or what to be. Watchful of so ucan head things off b4 they get too bad..thanks again

More water is advantageous for several reasons. Since RES need to be in water to swallow, you want it to be as clean as possible. Larger water volumes help dilute waste and you want to provide as much swimming space as possible. In such a small container, you'd probably want to 100% water changes every few days like Love of Animals said. If you have a larger tank with the appropriate filtration, you don't have to change the water or clean the filter as often.

For hatchlings, keep the water at a steady 78F, basking areas 10F warmer.

Would putting in two of the same size filters be comprable to what you were talking about..example..say a 30 gallon tank would putting in 2 20-30 gal water filters. Be what you are talking about? I see a lot of tanks with 2 filters running

Urgent Care :: just got a baby res her shell looks funky

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