Urgent Care :: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

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Post Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:23 am   YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

Hi, long time since I've posted here.

Subject: Female YBS
Symptoms: Refusing food, slow movement, sleeping too much, keeping her eyes closed too much.

Details:

I have two female YBS sharing a tank, but separated by a partition.

One of my turtles, Mordin, has been sick recently. It's been going on for around a week and it's taken me this long to be sure that something is genuinely wrong.

It started around a week ago with Mordin refusing food and sleeping for too long, which isn't unusual for her around this time of the year. She can be moody and she's refused food for over a week in November/December for the last two years. I =believe this behaviour is often a precursor to her laying eggs, or I've started to think that might be her body trying to brumate when it gets cold. Occasionally she would eat a little, but most of the time she has been leaving most of her food out. I responded by turning her heat up from 78 to 80 degrees. I thought this might help to wake her up.

(On Friday I noticed that the tank was dirty, possibly from the food she'd been leaving in the water, so I did a water change. Later in the day, I noticed that the filter was making a loud noise and that it had stopped running. When I primed it, sludge shot out of the outlet pipe and fouled up the water again. I did another water change. By yesterday the water was looking clear again.

Two days ago she spent most of the day awake, but she barely left the basking dock. She had her eyes open and she looked mostly fine, but late in the day I noticed white marks around her eyes that concerned me - they looked like a dried liquid. I worried this might be fungus and I took her out of the tank to clean her. I gave her a salt water bath as per a recommendation online and returned her to the tank. I haven't noticed this again since, but I've also not seen her basking.

Late Yesterday I started to get more worried. She's been sleeping with her head drooping down and seems to be struggling to keep her eyes open under water. She's often only opening her left eye and keeping her right eye closed. When she's out of the water she opens both eyes. At this point, it's hard for me to tell if there's any swelling or if this is due to some irritation, but she does keep rubbing her eyes. Fearing this was a vitamin A deficiency, I tried feeding her Kale (which she didn't eat) and shredded carrots. She actually ate a lot of the shredded carrots.

I read somewhere that turning the heat up to the lower-mid 80s would simulate a fever in case this was an RI, so I did that. This morning she'd eaten a lot of what I'd given her, but left a lot too. As a result, the water isn't looking too clear right now. I gave her more carrots and she ate most of them. I gave her a mixture of greens and I'm waiting to see what happens.



---

How big is your turtle?
Shell length is about 5 inches

How long have you had it?
I think it's been 6 years, since she was a hatchling.

What is the water temperature?
Currently 83 degrees, usually around 78-80 degrees.

Did you use a thermometer?
Yes.

Are you using a water heater?
Yes,

How much water is in there?
55 gallons.

Are you using a water conditioner?
Yes.

Are you using any filtration?
Yes, a Sunsun filter designed for a 150 gal tank.

What is the basking temperature?
Unsure.

Is there a basking light?
Yes.

Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?
Yes.

What kind is it or what is it made out of?
It's one of those commercial plastic turtle toppers.

Is there a UVB light?
It's a full spectrum 100watt megaray bulb.

What have you been trying to feed it?
As staples; Red or green leaf lettuce and a mixture of various commercial pellets (reptomin flukers), some floating wheat germ pellets (koi fish pellets that were recommended to help shedding). Last night and today I fed her shredded carrots and part of a strawberry. a few days ago she ate some dried mealworms.

When was the last time your turtle ate?
This morning, though not very much.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
55 gallons.

Is the tank near a window?
No.

Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?
Not particularly.

Have you read the Basic Care section?
Yes

Have you searched the forums for similar situations?
Yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?
She's been keeping her eyes closed and often only opening her left eye while under water. The other day while basking I noticed white marks that looked like dried watery stains around her eyes.
TheMVB
 
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Post Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:46 am   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

Also I should mention that Pinkman, the other female YBS in the tank, seems to be doing fine and has a lot of energy.
TheMVB
 
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Post Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 11:50 am   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

The lack of appetite , if it's the normal time for her to produce eggs , as the eggs grow in size they normally slow down eating for the room to develop eggs.
The eyes espically in the water : this time of year most city water supplies change from chloramine to chlorine , may feel that. Better than conditioner add proper amount of carbom to better help waters condition and observe.
Temps : thermometer you using still auccurate ? keep water at a " consistent" 80-83* and observe any changes.
Dried watery stains may be mineral deposits?
Observe well for any other signs.

I would separate to another tank for safety.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 2:43 pm   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

New development...

I went to the room where I keep their aquarium and it stank of eggs. This has happened before when gas bubbles form under the sand at the bottom of the tank. The water was not looking good, so I cleaned the tank again today, changing about 90% of the water. Mordin has been more active since.

While I was cleaning I checked her eyes. It's very hard to see, but the corner of the eye that is bothering her is pink and possibly inflamed. I ordered some eye-drops that should arrive on Wednesday.

Another thing I noticed was that Mordin kept her eyes open the whole time she was out of the tank for the cleaning and seemingly didn't have a hard time keeping them open. I could believe that there's an irritant in the water, like Chlorine.
TheMVB
 
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Post Posted: Mon Dec 10, 2018 4:07 pm   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

Those conditioner drops may be expired. Reason to use carbon. Thats been some very big water changes at on time and soon together.

Check for more eggs may still have some. Have a nesting box ready or some safe garden space for her.
https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ho ... ORM=VIREHT

The eye drops will help . Think it was just the large water changes so fast. Keep observing well !
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 1:29 pm   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

I don't usually change the water so quickly, but there were serious problems with it. As of today, it's green and dirty looking again. I might wind up doing another partial change.

Mordin has been more active, eating more and opening her eyes. I started giving her eye drops yesterday. I think she's getting better.
TheMVB
 
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Post Posted: Wed Dec 12, 2018 2:10 pm   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

With a sunsun designed for 150 gal tank and the 55 gallons of water you have is minimally adequate for two female adult turtles even if each are 5".
Upgrade time !
That filter when they were smaller was ok but not now , they grown. Also a larger water volume will be easier to control the water parameters.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 15, 2018 12:47 pm   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

The white marks are likely hard water deposits, and will show up if she’s out of the water for awhile. Is she refusing the pellets too? This time of year my male RES shows no interest in his lettuce.
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2018 11:25 am   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

Bit of an update...

I finally fixed the water purity issue. After a few days of partial changes, the water started running clear. I also started administering drops to Mordin's eyes on a daily basis. The bottle recommended going a week and if there was no change, seeing a vet. Mordin started doing MUCH better. She took to eating pellets again, begging for food again, keeping her eyes open, the redness in the corner of her eyes is gone... she's been doing really well.

Yesterday I stopped applying drops, did a partial water change and now I'm about to get on a flight. I'm going away for a week and leaving them in the care of auto-feeders and a security camera I can check in on (I have a neighbour who will check on them if needed). This morning she ate her food, but I've noticed she's closing one eye again. I guess if she's still having this problem when I get home in a week, I'll have to bite the bullet and see a vet.

I really think this might all just be a problem with the new tap water I put in the tank yesterday. I found my own eyes have been stinging after taking a shower. I do de-chlorinate their water and Pinkman has been just fine throughout this whole thing. Mordin just might be especially sensitive to it. I really hope it's something that simple.
TheMVB
 
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Post Posted: Fri Dec 21, 2018 5:44 pm   Re: YBS sleeping too much, low appetite eye issues

Do you de-chlorinate before you put the water in?
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