Urgent Care :: Sick Turtle Crisis

[mythicalpet]

One of my common musks is sick. He is 2 years old and 5 months. He's breathing from his mouth and he feels really limp and he doesn't always react to me. I've put him in quarantine and dry-docked him. I'm keeping him warm. I think he's got pneumonia, even though he was 100% a few days ago. I read online that pneumonia can kill in a few hours. I'm really scared. What's going on with him? Is there anything I can do?

[steve]

Pneumonia doesn't kill that quickly, though he was probably hiding his symptoms. Don't forget to rehydrate him, but take him to a vet. There's no way to be sure what's bothering him right now.

[mythicalpet]

Thanks so much! He's acting pretty weird though. Sometimes he's really limp like he's dead (even if he's not), and sometimes (like just now)he's suddenly hyperactive and starts crawling around like his own self. Is that a bad thing ( I think it is though!) ?

[steve]

Well, these symptoms are a bit vague (not your fault). You know your turtle better than anyone, so if you feel he's sick then you need to take action. Has he ever done this before? At his age, you should be familiar with his behavioral quirks.

[mythicalpet]

It's the first time he's done this... ... I took him to the vet yesterday night, and the vet says he's SERIOUSLY sick. I'm keeping him REALLY warm now at home, because my parents refused to pay $300 (I know, right?) to hospitalise him and another $100 for each day there.( Harsh, right?) *Sigh*. I'll book an appointment for Wednesday in SPCA, which is cheaper. What can I do now apart from keeping him warm? He can die any minute. :'-( :'-(

[steve]

Sorry to hear it. Aside from being warm, was anything else done? Medication, food, etc? Since they hide their symptoms, it can be tough to treat.