Urgent Care :: Turtle Behavior?

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Post Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 1:35 am   Turtle Behavior?

How big is your turtle? 7.7 lbs
How long have you had it? 20 years but she is 30 something

What is the water temperature? 76
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 45
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? don't know
Is there a basking light? there is a ceramic heat emitter
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 fake turtle logs
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? she gets Omega One Turtle food and red leaf lettuce
When was the last time your turtle ate? few days ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 75 gallons
Is the tank near a window? yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes


Hey all, I have a bit of an update on my girl Cecil and I wasn't quite sure where to post this as it all still seems to be a mystery. To recap quickly, at the end of April she started to seem to not be eating as much. I had been wondering if she was losing her sight a bit but I don't think that's the case. In the beginning of May I began to wonder if maybe she had eggs because she still wasn't eating that much so I took her in for an x-ray but there were no eggs. We also did blood work at that time, specialized blood work for her that also tested her calcium/phosphorous levels and everything came back perfect. But for the whole month of May her behavior has been really weird. She hasn't eaten that much. She's hardly basked at all. She mostly just swims constantly and I've also seen her kind of scootching her back end/squeezing her hind legs together but I don't think she's constipated. I've seen her poop plus she hasn't eaten that much, plus the x-ray did not show anything unusual. She's also showing aggressive behavior which is mostly uncommon for her. Typically she's a very friendly gal with me but lately she rams the side of her tank trying to get me whenever I walk past. Usually she only gets like that when I clean her tank but right now she's doing it just for the heck of it, it seems.

So anyway, because I'm worried, I took her back to the vet this week and again she has a clean bill of health. No eggs, vet says she looks fantastic, somehow she even gained a whole pound which is a lot for a turtle. We did another x-ray and this time sent it off to a special reptile radiologist and he said everything looked good. So we're stumped. The vet doesn't want to just arbitrarily do antibiotics because there's no evidence of an infection. She suggested dry docking her for two hours a day since she's not basking on her own which I will do but I was just wondering if anyone else here has ever experienced stuff like this.

And before you ask, there's been no changes to her environment at all nor any changes to our daily schedules/habits. Everything is exactly the same.

So when not gravid, what could cause these behavior issues? And how on earth does a turtle gain a whole pound when barely eating? I miss my sweet basking princess and I worry that she's not happy. All that swimming and aggression can't be mentally healthy for her. :(

Thoughts?
zana
 
Posts: 25
Joined: May 31, 2014
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 6:48 am   Re: Turtle Behavior?

Possible you answered the question , "no changes to her environment" everything exactly the same. Mon I grew some . I want to swim more. Over your years you know how picky a turtle can get ! As turtles get older there personality's do changes just like in humans. She also may be trying to tell you something , my basking temp is off. Not being able to read it you truly have no idea what it is. I over my years found the IR type to be the most accurate. Also the UVB bulb's stop producing UVB ray after 8-10 months but will still produce regular light , she may be telling you that to. Also a turtle to be happy needs for every 1" shell 10 gallons of water alone . 45 gallons water in that 75 tank is not much water for a 7.7# girl she grew , how about filling all 75 and make some kind of "ATBA" or an upgrade she will like that. More room ! Every turtle I have/had tells me what they want in there own way. Do you have live plants in tank she's eating or is someone else in home feeding her unknown to you. She did gain a whole pound.
That scotching could be a little skin shedding going on.
Great you are a good Mon and Vet visits ! She's just trying to tell you something. This is taken from my 50 plus years of turtle keeping and is one of many opinions that may be out there.
litefoot
 
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Location: New Orleans
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 10:52 am   Re: Turtle Behavior?

Could the weight be related to just how recently she was in the water? Where are you located? Has it warmed up where you are?
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:35 am   Re: Turtle Behavior?

litefoot wrote:Possible you answered the question , "no changes to her environment" everything exactly the same. Mon I grew some . I want to swim more. Over your years you know how picky a turtle can get ! As turtles get older there personality's do changes just like in humans. She also may be trying to tell you something , my basking temp is off. Not being able to read it you truly have no idea what it is. I over my years found the IR type to be the most accurate. Also the UVB bulb's stop producing UVB ray after 8-10 months but will still produce regular light , she may be telling you that to. Also a turtle to be happy needs for every 1" shell 10 gallons of water alone . 45 gallons water in that 75 tank is not much water for a 7.7# girl she grew , how about filling all 75 and make some kind of "ATBA" or an upgrade she will like that. More room ! Every turtle I have/had tells me what they want in there own way. Do you have live plants in tank she's eating or is someone else in home feeding her unknown to you. She did gain a whole pound.
That scotching could be a little skin shedding going on.
Great you are a good Mon and Vet visits ! She's just trying to tell you something. This is taken from my 50 plus years of turtle keeping and is one of many opinions that may be out there.


Thank you for all your info. She is due for a bigger tank. Next paycheck I'll be shopping for one. I do know about the light changes. I change hers every six months. I just changed it a few days ago. Definitely no one else is feeding her because I live alone. I'm going to do the forced basking like my vet suggested but I will also get her a bigger tank this month too and see if that helps.

Thank you!
zana
 
Posts: 25
Joined: May 31, 2014
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 11:37 am   Re: Turtle Behavior?

steve wrote:Could the weight be related to just how recently she was in the water? Where are you located? Has it warmed up where you are?


It's warmed up a little but not a whole lot. It's Spring here right now. Current outside temp as I type this is 70 Fahrenheit with a low humidity. So not any real big changes yet.
zana
 
Posts: 25
Joined: May 31, 2014
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Fri Jun 09, 2017 5:53 pm   Re: Turtle Behavior?

With what's going on do not forget about the "burn in period" .
litefoot
 
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Joined: Nov 7, 2016
Location: New Orleans
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 1:34 am   Re: Turtle Behavior?

litefoot wrote:With what's going on do not forget about the "burn in period" .


I'm sorry, I don't know what that means. Can you tell me?
zana
 
Posts: 25
Joined: May 31, 2014
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Sat Jun 10, 2017 6:58 am   Re: Turtle Behavior?

Thank you for all your info. She is due for a bigger tank. Next paycheck I'll be shopping for one. I do know about the light changes. I change hers every six months. I just changed it a few days ago. Definitely no one else is feeding her because I live alone. I'm going to do the forced basking like my vet suggested but I will also get her a bigger tank this month too and see if that helps.

Thank you![/quote]


Being you just done this a few days ago with your concern on behavior under urgent Care I wanted you make sure you knew about how use specialty bulbs. Thanks for asking I can answer ! In my time in hobby some don't , or so heart broken over the problem there love one has they forget the burn in. I like to remind them because if not done correctly one can injure there friend hurting there eyes or worst , also can affect the behavior of a turtle , then a weak UVB or one that stopped producing UVB rays will effect the digestive system and eating habits of a turtle !

Most major countrys have gotten away from incandescent bulbs and forcing CFL's on to people. In specialty bulbs like UVB there is one big concern ! Simply , most "specialty" ( UVB ) bulbs need to go through a time period so to set or settle down it's output , also what type of fixture one has will affect that time period. Good companies will make a "NOTE" about the burn in and also give a "CHART" for that time period. Found most forget that or just don't know or don't want to hear about it because they only want to do what they want to hear. I am only trying to give you the best advice and correct advice meant nothing bad to you. This is about the turtle. One of the biggest problems when turtles don't bask correctly is directly related to the burn in. Turtle's know what they need more than us and some have such small basking areas that a turtle can not find a safe spot so it does not bask. To me it's all about the health of the turtle !


Here is a sample of NOTE by a manufacture : http://www.redearslider.com/downloads/r ... ctions.pdf

PLEASE read all , thanks'. This can also help other's that may be new to the hobby who read this , thanks' for asking and being a good parent.

Cecil will always love you for being a good Mom !
litefoot
 
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