General Care Discussion :: General care

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 1:58 pm   General care

Hello

I am new to red eared sliders. I have 3 which are about 1 years old. I have them in a relatively large aquarium. When I feed them, I feed them in a much smaller aquarium that I put a bit of water in with their food so that their aquarium does not get very dirty.
I have a number of questions.
1. My largest sizes turtle (+- 17cm shell) has swollen eyes. How best can I cure this and avoid it from happening again?
2. The other turtle seems to be hibernating. Shold I try to get her to eat? Would moving her to the other aquarium for feeding disturb her?
3. The 3rd one is relatively active. How often should I feed her?

Note that it is winter her and the room temperature is relatively cold. I have a heater for them so their water should be OK but the outside temperature might be cold for them.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thank you
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Post Posted: Tue Feb 14, 2017 5:33 pm   Re: General care

Can you answer some of these questions?

viewtopic.php?t=2142
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steve
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Post Posted: Thu Feb 16, 2017 2:11 pm   Re: General care

Hello. Please see my answers below

How big is your turtle? 12cm (the biggest turtle which has eye problems)
How long have you had it? over a year

What is the water temperature? 22 degrees celsius
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? +- 135 litres
Are you using a water conditioner? No
Are you using any filtration? Yes. Fluval 4+

What is the basking temperature? Hmm im not sure. I have two basking areas. The one has the following light: E27 50/100W Reptile Halogen Heat Lamp Light Basking Full Spectrum UVA UVB Bulb
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? Bought it off eBay. It is perspex i think
Is there a UVB light? see above

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets
When was the last time your turtle ate? about a month ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
Width: 90cm (35.43")
Height:50cm (19.69")
Depth: 30cm (11.81")
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Yes there is quite a bit of activity. I have 3 young kids ..
Animallover
 
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Post Posted: Sat Feb 18, 2017 12:37 am   Re: General care

Swollen eyes are usually a result of:
1) eye injury
2) water issues (excessive chlorine)
3) lack or vitamin A
4) conjunctivitis from faulty UVB

I would isolate them to rule out the various issues. Bumping up the temperatures a little could also be beneficial. I'm not sure you have a UVB lamp (full spectrum does not mean it's UVB), do you know what brand it is?
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Post Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 2:39 pm   Re: General care

To be honest i am also not convinced it is a UVB lamp. The various lamps out there have confused me a bit.

I have changed their water and i added some drops to eliminate the chlorine issue. I do not think it is an eye injury because there is no injury i can see..and it is in both eyes. I have put her eye drops and her eyes seem to be better.

I think the issue is the UVB lamp. I am not sure of the brand. Can you suggest a lamp that is not too expensive but will produce the required results?
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Post Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2017 6:55 pm   Re: General care

Discontinue using the full spectrum lamp and try just using a regular incandescent or halogen for a few days. If it is light-related, it should clear up quickly.
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