General Care Discussion :: New owner somewhat having trouble

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 1:59 am   New owner somewhat having trouble

Hi! We've had our little hatchlings for a few months now at 2.5" (Wilson) and 1.5" (Napoleon). They're quite voracious eaters, but we do limit their food.

Three days ago, we just got a more powerful 800l/h filter, so we transfferred the lil guys in a temporary, a bit bigger digs than they used to have. I noticed that they haven't been basking much now, especially Napoleon.I can see Wilson now staying by the platform going up to the basking area. Not as long as he used to and not directly under the light, but still an improvement. He goes up for a few seconds to a minute, then slides back to the water, swims a while, and then up again. Really flighty since the move too. I just walk by and he shoots himself straight down the water. Napoleon on the other hand used to bask a lot and mostly sleeps out of the water at night, but now he's underwater 90% of the time. I often catch him hanging out by the new filter motor sandwiched by it and the wall. He maybe likes the feel of vibration or the water getting sucked in.

I know it's been only 3 days since the change, but it worries me. Should I give it more time? I'm thinking of making a wall around the filter motor. Oh, and their diet's been the same, but if ever that's the problem and it's just been building up 'till now: we feed them with alternating turtle pellets and koi pellets covered in reptical with D3 (only as much as their respective heads), vegetable fix (chinese cabbage/green leaf lettuce/iceberg lettuce) for the rest of the day, sometimes some dried shrimps (their favourite), sometimes carrots.
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Post Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 3:59 am   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

The basking issue should sort itself out. How warm is it? You might need to bump up the temps a little.

As for the filter... I would be concerned about any trapping/drowning issues. What model filter is it?
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Post Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2018 4:43 am   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

That's good to hear~ The temp's at 38 ºc on the warmest part. I now think my worries are unfounded. I just saw Napoleon a moment ago inside the basking area. Wilson still won't go in unless there's food though.

It's Aqua Zonic - Black Knight 1. The smallest guy still seems to be in control whenever he goes near the pump, and it has this grilled spout thing to ensure that the animals won't get trapped. I placed it on the corner, so there's a side of the wall where the distance in between is small enough that neither of the turtles can get stuck, but the other side has a space where the smallest guy can get in but it's large enough so getting out is easy.
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 07, 2018 2:48 am   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

On most filters the inlet cover comes off, so you need to make sure it's secured. They'll sometimes squeeze behind the tube too, just aware of any potential spots since they will like to explore their tank.
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 3:09 am   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

Thanks for the tips! Finally got them in their new tank and a much larger basking spot, then made sure they won't get caught on the filter or the hose. Napoleon stopped hanging out by the motor and plays by the water outlet these days. Both of them are basking a lot now too, especially Wilson. Since they get dry now, I noticed some changes on their shells. I've checked on some pictures online, but I'm still not sure, especially about Napoleon's.

Image

Here's Wilson's. I think he's just shedding, but I might be wrong. (Napoleon was looking for some food down there while I was holding Wilson :P)

Image

And here's where I'm more concerned - Napoleon's shell. That brown part used to be circular and white, so I thought it was a small shell rot. He already had it when we bought him. I put some diluted betadine (1:1) on it for about a week. It still didn't come off after a month or two, so last month I put betadine on it again - undiluted this time - for two weeks. Now it spread a bit, turned brown, and seems to be peeling off. Is that okay or is that worse?
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Post Posted: Tue Jul 24, 2018 11:26 pm   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

Wilson is starting to shed, but he's growing a bit too fast. Make sure he doesn't get more than his share, and you might want to cut down on his protein and add more veggies.

Not sure what is going on with Napoleon's shell. It could be fungus, though that usually stays white/yellowish. If it's fungus, it will continue to spread.
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 8:32 am   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

Got it! We thought to give Wilson more because he's bigger. XD He also tends to get more food than Napoleon when we put the food in the water and leave the two to their own devices, so I'll just stop doing that and hand-feed them. Will cut back on his protein now and add more veggies. Maybe add some more veggie variety too. :D

Oh no, is it bad? Should I put more betadine on it or does he need another type of medicine? O:
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Post Posted: Wed Jul 25, 2018 1:15 pm   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

I haven't really seen betadine work on shell fungus. Do you have any pictures of when it was white? How does the shell look under any parts that are lifting up?
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Post Posted: Fri Jul 27, 2018 3:54 am   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

I don't have clear pictures of when it was still white, but I did take a video back then, so here are some screencaps. It also did have some black edge thing going on.
Image

And here are some clearer photos of how the spot looks like right now. Took it under white light this time, so I guess it's not really brown? I was always looking at it under the basking light so I thought it turned brown. Actually looks more yellow/white without the black edges.
Image Image
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Post Posted: Sat Jul 28, 2018 12:16 am   Re: New owner somewhat having trouble

It still mostly looks like fungus. He needs a bit of a diet too.
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