Distilled Water? Year old Eastern Boxie Not very Active

BentoNeko

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i have told you how to help with the vitamin A issue. You might need to see a vet now.

Her skin even appears dry now! I have looked in stores nearest to me and it seems they dont have this vita sol. I would love to take her to a vet! However, all vets around me refuse to see any reptiles :l They only will see dogs, cats, and sometimes birds...
 

Pastel Tortie

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Check the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) website at https://arav.org and use their "Find a Vet" feature (it's one of the buttons at the very top of the page). See how close you can get to your location.

Contact the Kentucky Herpetological Society and ask if they have any veterinary recommendations or if maybe there's a nearby member who can mentor you. Try asking them if they know of anyplace that would carry Vita-Sol (or something like it) in stock, so you can buy it in person. Sometimes there's a different brand name, or there may be a comparable product known locally as something else.

There are many of us on the forum who hate having to use the phone (and one of them used to work for the phone company!)... However, I would encourage you follow up the initial email to the KHS with a phone call, if you get the feeling that may be how they prefer to communicate. Make yourself a list of "talking points," with all of the important information you want to be able to convey (specs and situation), along with all the questions you want to ask, for when you make the call. And if you type it up, you can also copy/paste it into your email. :)
 

BentoNeko

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Check the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians (ARAV) website at https://arav.org and use their "Find a Vet" feature (it's one of the buttons at the very top of the page). See how close you can get to your location.

Contact the Kentucky Herpetological Society and ask if they have any veterinary recommendations or if maybe there's a nearby member who can mentor you. Try asking them if they know of anyplace that would carry Vita-Sol (or something like it) in stock, so you can buy it in person. Sometimes there's a different brand name, or there may be a comparable product known locally as something else.

There are many of us on the forum who hate having to use the phone (and one of them used to work for the phone company!)... However, I would encourage you follow up the initial email to the KHS with a phone call, if you get the feeling that may be how they prefer to communicate. Make yourself a list of "talking points," with all of the important information you want to be able to convey (specs and situation), along with all the questions you want to ask, for when you make the call. And if you type it up, you can also copy/paste it into your email. :)

Ill give it a go! Thanks :)))
 

Pastel Tortie

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I re-read this thread, and I wanted to mention about the dryness... Make sure you are soaking your turtle (daily if she's dry), whether you add anything to the water or not. Make sure the water is warm, not hot. Aim for around 90°F, maybe slightly warmer to start with. My boxie isn't usually interested in food until her carapace reads about 90°F. You may have better luck getting her to eat if you feed her in the water while she's soaking.
 

Cyphinitar

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I re-read this thread, and I wanted to mention about the dryness... Make sure you are soaking your turtle (daily if she's dry), whether you add anything to the water or not. Make sure the water is warm, not hot. Aim for around 90°F, maybe slightly warmer to start with. My boxie isn't usually interested in food until her carapace reads about 90°F. You may have better luck getting her to eat if you feed her in the water while she's soaking.

I’m having a similar issue. Do you put the live feeders or plant matter in the water?
 

Pastel Tortie

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I’m having a similar issue. Do you put the live feeders or plant matter in the water?
Yes, I do put the live feeders, pellets, plant matter, etc., into the soaking water. Especially if/when I feel the need to pay closer attention to how much of what gets eaten. It tends to help with a reluctant turtle, as the gentle movement of the water seems to make floating turtle pellets more enticing (like prey). The pellets soften in water, making them easier for tiny turtle mouths to eat.

If you're using crickets, hand feed (with tongs) one at a time. That way the turtle can grab it and disable it all in one bite. Besides, you can dust the crickets first and get the supplement directly into the turtle's mouth! My boxie gets creeped out (or whatever the turtle equivalent is) with a cricket climbing all over her carapace. :) Also, crickets don't swim well (read: they drown easily), so you're not sacrificing more crickets than your turtle will eat in one sitting (soaking).

Unlike crickets, red wigglers can survive in water up to a few hours. They stop moving after a while, and they do eventually drown. Turtles tend to lose interest once the earthworms stop moving. However, if the turtle can handle the size of the entire earthworm, it means you don't have to break the earthworm into pieces... so you can return the uneaten one(s) to the container (or release them in the turtle enclosure on the land part). Generally, I try not to sacrifice more than one or maybe two feeder inverts at a time, unless I'm pretty sure the turtle will eat them.
 

Pastel Tortie

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In case the turtle is being shy, you can get any uneaten pellets or other food items out of the soaking water BEFORE you get the turtle back out. Put the leftovers on a feeding surface in the turtle's enclosure, and return the turtle to the enclosure, near the food. Sometimes they will eat more when they don't think you're watching.

My boxie will sometimes be sneaky... She will walk past or across the food, pretending not to be interested, then she'll go through one of her hides or around a plant, and double back to the food dish. That usually gives me enough time to leave her alone with the food, or to pretend to leave... ;)
 
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