Urgent Care :: Help! I don't know whats wrong with my baby RES

[jamminswima]

Hello all!

I recently had to change my baby RES diet because the frozen pellets he was on were discontinued at all the pet stores in a 1 hour radius. So after reading and talking to the pet stores turtle expert he suggested that I try small crickets, meal worms and mysis to see what he would like. He is a very picky eater so he gave me some samples so I could see how it worked out. He is no more than 2 inches and I read they need lots of protein and calcium. I still have to buy him calcium supplement but these past three days I've been just trying out the new diet. He doesn't much care for the crickets though he did eat some and the mysis he will eat but half of it gets lost in the water. What he really seemed to enjoy was the meal worms. So i've started with 3 meal worms and a third of a cube of mysis twice a day (or at least that is what I was told though I was told to feed him as many as he could eat but I stuck with three meal worms so as not to over feed). I got worried when I noticed he wasnt pooping anymore, and now Im seeing these whisps in his water which dont look like anything Ive seen before. He just recently had a water change and he has been acting a bit lethargic recently. His water was a little on the colder spectrum but Ive been trying to keep it more consitently warm since I noticed his lethargy. Now Im worried that he is puking his food, or couching lung tissue, or mucus, or is it shedding because I do not know what those whisps are. I've had him for 6 months and nothing like this has ever happened so Im worried its his new diet. PLEASE HELP SOMEONE. Im a very worried mommy right now. The picture is what they look like. Any ideas as to what that is?

[butterflygirl921]

They tend to eat their poop sometimes and sometimes they Leave the poop skin behind (mine does this) do you have a water heater?

[steve]

Could also be pellet crumbs, it's hard to make anything out from the picture.

[jamminswima]

He's not on a pellet diet right now and I don't feed him in this tank. I feed him in another tank so as not to have to clean it out as much.

I also do not have a heater because I have been able to keep his water at a solid temperature range, its only recently that it has been fluctuating a little more than I am use to.

I know the picture is not as clear as I would like it to be. But it looks like whitish/clear whisps almost like dust would look like on a shelf but this is underwater of course.

He is still being lethargic in the sense that he has pulled his arms and part of his head in his shell. He usually just chills when he is not active just spread out.

Any other suggestions? Would greatly appreciate them!

[steve]

Meal worms are not the best thing, so I'd try to avoid it. Wisps are usually skin. Some odd things to show up are usually shed skin, pellet/food remnants, fungus (from still or stagnant water), egg and leftovers or semen. Health related things could be mucus, diarrhea or vomit. From the pic, it could be poop remnants. What is the temperature range?