Urgent Care :: Not eating, eyes shut. Other turtles are fine.

[brooks-dj]

I know that there have been multiple posts regarding turtles not eating, but this situation seems to be different from all of the other scenarios in one way or another. I would appreciate any suggestions that you might have to offer.

I have three turtles living together in a 210 gallon tank. I have had all three for the past 2.5 years (since they were very young). The largest of the the three is the alpha of the group. She is a female and is about 6-7 inches and she is generally the most active and the first to eat. About a week ago, she stopped eating. I dont think that the behavior is due to environmental factors, since the other two in the tank have been carrying on like normal.

I generally feed them pellets, with the very occasional feeder fish. To try and peek her interest, I put some feeders in the tank last night. She chased some around for a bit, but then went right back to basking.

In a recent turn of events, she has been keeping her eyes shut a great deal more than usual. Both in the water and outside of the water. Her eyes (when open), nose, and shell all seem fine.

If she is just under the weather and getting better on her own, I am content to let her be. But if she needs some extra care, I want to do whatever I can.

Any thoughts? Thank you for anything that you might have to offer.

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Tank info (incase it helps)
210 Gal.
UVA & UVB Light
Filled 85% of the way
Floating basking surfaces
water temp = 79 degrees
Fluval fx5

[steve]

Hi, changes in environmental factors will not produce the same results with RES. If she is otherwise OK and not being harassed, then I agree with your assessment.

[brooks-dj]

Thank you for your response Steve. She is definitely not being harassed. She still has not eaten, with the exception of 1 rosy red that I fed her by hand about 4 days ago. So you think that I should let her be and let nature run its course? Thank you again for taking the time to respond.

[steve]

It's hard to say. It's always uneasy when we think one of our "babies" is sick. Did you put in a new UVB recently? Do the eyes look swollen? I'd see how she responds to another rosey red first but as a precaution, it might be a good idea to setup a quarantine tank just in case she needs to be separated.