Hi everyone! My name is Aly, and this is my first time posting on the forum here. I am a relatively new red eared slider owner, and I've often consulted this site due to its awesome wealth of information. Right now, I need some opinions.
Basically, I was on craigslist one day clicking through ads looking for a larger tank for my bearded dragon. I clicked on one for two turtles, and that's how I acquired my baby red eared sliders. I got them around early December, and they were both in bad shape. The woman had been keeping them in a cricket carrier with not even an inch of water; it was awful. Poor things. Regardless, I took them to the vet, found out all their health issues were due to a poor environment, fixed it, etc. and they've been completely fine since then. However, today I woke up with some concerns, which is why I came here. Basically, I got up and went over to say hi before feeding them, and the smaller of the two turtles (Squirtle), sneezed. He proceeded to sneeze five times within the next three minutes, and has been quiet since. I was under the impression (which could easily be wrong), that turtles occasionally sneezed. Is that much sneezing uncommon? He has no other signs of illness; no mucus and he swims just fine. Should I take him to the vet just to be safe? He has me worried sick, haha.
How big is your turtle? He's very tiny. His shell can't be more than three inches long.
How long have you had it? Since early December.
What is the water temperature? 76 degrees
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? 10 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes
Are you using any filtration? Yes
What is the basking temperature? I'm not sure, I'll check.
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes, they love it.
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Its a turtle dock.
Is there a UVB light? Yes
What have you been trying to feed it? Reptomin pellets
When was the last time your turtle ate? He ate this morning
How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 15 gallons
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Its near the area I usually do my classwork in. I frequent the room to read/study/write/etc. but that is it.
Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? No
Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? No, like I said, other than the sneezing fit he seems to be his normal goofy self.
Thank you so much in advance for the advice! I really, really appreciate it.
