General Care Discussion :: A few questions

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 3:41 am   A few questions

One of our two-year-old sliders passed away after vomiting too much blood. We took him to the vet, two of them separately, but none of them could explain why the vomiting of blood came from and he still passed away. They found tumours in the oesophagus when they did the endoscopy. The vet said he didn't know if the tumours or other things drained his blood. The slider had some pyramiding and I think he was overfed, but none of the vets talk about the pyramiding and overfeeding even after examining them.
I know I should listen to the vet, but since he cannot explain anything I am wondering if any of you here may have an idea why he died. I am trying to understand if it was because of our setup, so we could change it asap.

The remaining two-year-old is very active, but I also think she's overfed. We are reducing what she eats now. Recently, we find some seaweed like thing in the tank even none of us gave her seaweed. It is not algae plants. Any idea if it is something of concern? She is eating, basking, and doing everything normally.

Our ten-year-old slider is fine and not overfed, although he seems to move slower than when he was young. He still slides down very quickly from the rock though. I suppose it is a normal thing he becomes slower because his shell is heavier?
rosaceae
 
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Post Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 5:42 am   Re: A few questions

Very sorry for your loss !

Did the vet's you go to specialize in reptiles? A Herp Vet ! That's one who specializer's in turtles !

#1 Vitamin K deficiency in turtles seems to be the major cause for this problem. Poor diet ! I would change the others diet to include some veggies. Poor diet can lead to internal organ damage and poor health.

#2 Do you have any aquarium gravel in there home. If so remove it ASAP ! Turtles will eat it...has Sharp edges and could cause a blockage or cut internal organs.

#3 A major illness...

Only an Herp Vet could tell for sure what caused the blood vomiting!

The other , did it eat any veggies to fast or to much , partially digested looking like seaweed?

I would check there habitat : gravel , water condition , temp's etc... and a must , a proper diet , to be healthy. Turtles are good at hiding problems. Do you have a good accurate temperature gauge. Floating type no good , even digital look nice but very inaccurate have several in a drawer. I found a IR type to be the best! Even those stick on type pretty good. Improper Habitat's are a major cause for problems.

Does everyone feed the turtles because they always beg? I would setup a prepared daily amount ( like a weekly pill box) and everyone can only feed from that amount ! Once gone its gone that's all. No matter how much begging ! Juvenile's and adults need more veggies than protein. Adults 70% veggies ! Better to under feed than over feed. A healthy turtle can help prevent some problems , they are hardy when healthy.

My Mickey was over 18 , RES male and when outside he was so fast I had to be in full sprint to catch him. Due to my age and health and life's issues had to re-home him at our Nature Center where I volunteer at. Turtle's look slow but are fast and as adults very strong!

Again ONLY a Herp Vet could have told what caused the problem , one specialized in turtles!
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 7:38 am   Re: A few questions

Thanks for the reply. I've already gone to the most scaled reptile clinic in my city, but still they could not tell me why my turtles lost blood or developed tumours at the oesophagus (it's not visible externally). He had a blood test, and we found out that the RBC content was so low that it was incompatible with life. Other figures were very abnormal too. He never woke up after the anesthesia. It's not gravel though because we have none.
The food he had was rich in iron (sometimes he had beef) however.
So
-tumour at oesophagus
-low RBC content
-all other indices abnormal, probably organ failure

I am trying to understand how tumour and organ failure relates.

That aside, what are some veggies with good vitamin K contents that sliders can eat?
rosaceae
 
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Post Posted: Tue May 09, 2017 7:58 am   Re: A few questions

Could have been something from birth? Some things we may never know.
I myself use lots of red lettuce and kale for vitamin K and Piggley love's them along with a well varied diet. See links below.

Only an appropriate well varied and balance diet is best for us and our turtle friends. Tumors' are abnormal growths that affect tissue and organs in any body.

Here's a good read : http://www.redearslider.com/plants.html

Here's another : http://reptile-savvy.webs.com/nutritionanddisease.htm

One more : http://www.redearslider.com/supplements.html
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Wed May 10, 2017 8:18 am   Re: A few questions

Sorry for your loss. Overfeeding is sometimes linked to premature organ failure, I have not heard of it linked to tumors or something as drastic as what your turtle experienced.

Do you have picture of that seaweed? My RES are in their early teens and seem pretty active as well.
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