Need Help! My turtles are sick

[brichtuban]

Hei!

I have two red eared water turtles in a glass aquarium with a water temperature kept at 28 celcius degree. The weather is winter so I'm not completely able to keep the air temperature constant.

My turtles are 3 years old. It is the first time I encounter a health problem. At first both of them had swollen eyes. I used teramycin but it didn't work. I took them to vet. They got 2 vitamin A injections with 2 days in between. One of my turtles is relatively big compared to the other and now she is fine. Her eyes are back to normal. The other one's eye is still swallon (not as much as before) but he cannot open his eyes.

In addition, they are not eating for the weeks. They are sleeping. What should I do? The vet said I should add vitamin A to their water and some different food to their diet. But they are not eating already. I desperately need help. Also, the vet said his speciality is not turtles. Any help appreciated. Thank you.

 

[ascott]

Hei!

I have two red eared water turtles in a glass aquarium with a water temperature kept at 28 celcius degree. The weather is winter so I'm not completely able to keep the air temperature constant.

My turtles are 3 years old. It is the first time I encounter a health problem. At first both of them had swollen eyes. I used teramycin but it didn't work. I took them to vet. They got 2 vitamin A injections with 2 days in between. One of my turtles is relatively big compared to the other and now she is fine. Her eyes are back to normal. The other one's eye is still swallon (not as much as before) but he cannot open his eyes.

In addition, they are not eating for the weeks. They are sleeping. What should I do? The vet said I should add vitamin A to their water and some different food to their diet. But they are not eating already. I desperately need help. Also, the vet said his speciality is not turtles. Any help appreciated. Thank you.

I would not allow any further vitamin a injections to begin with....what type of filter are you using? Does it keep the water clear/clean? This species is a very dirty animal and soil their water quickly....if they are relative in age yet their size difference is significant, you perhaps a male and a female, which is in itself an undesirable situation, babies are not a good thing, well, unless you have unlimited outdoor pond space for the multiple babies you will encounter season after season....

Has anything changed in the tank? Is the filter still strong enough to filter? Is the temp confirmed correct? What is your source of UVA and UVB rays?

 

[brichtuban]

Hi,
Thank you so much for the response.

The thing is, I don't have any UVA or UVB lambs. The water is clean, I'm not sure the type of the filter. Yes, the difference in size is because of the gender difference I guess. What do you mean by babies are not a good thing? The temperature is correct at 28 yes. The only change is the outside temperature due to the season. Also, when I apply teramycin to their eyes, they wipe it with their hands. I don't know how long they can go without food. I really don't know what to do. The city where I live is not offering so many vets..

 

[ascott]

Hi,
Thank you so much for the response.

The thing is, I don't have any UVA or UVB lambs. The water is clean, I'm not sure the type of the filter. Yes, the difference in size is because of the gender difference I guess. What do you mean by babies are not a good thing? The temperature is correct at 28 yes. The only change is the outside temperature due to the season. Also, when I apply teramycin to their eyes, they wipe it with their hands. I don't know how long they can go without food. I really don't know what to do. The city where I live is not offering so many vets..

They NEED uva/uvb to survive...they will die without that exposure....if they do not get this essential item, they will die....there is no way around that....and 28c/82-83f may be a touch warm...better is like 78-79 and then you will want to provide a spot that they can climb completely out of the water and bask under a hot spot---a turtle has to have uva/uvb and also a spot to bask to dry out their entire shell every day....

 

[brichtuban]

Okay. Thank you very much for this. They have a spot to climb and dry out btw and I'm going to decrease it to 78-79. Thanks!

 

[ascott]

Okay. Thank you very much for this. They have a spot to climb and dry out btw and I'm going to decrease it to 78-79. Thanks!

Please be sure to get a source of uva/uvb....or the other things "alone" will not save them....please also do not use the coil/pig tail bulbs, even though they are cheaper they can create a negative situation for the eyes of the turtle as well as the uva/uvb put off is not balanced nor reliable....the long tube uva/uvb is the best but a mercury vapor bulb is also okay (just don't allow splashing to get on it directly--it will burn out if so)....

 

[brichtuban]

I will, thank you. And thanks for the useful information. I hope they will get well soon..

 

[stojanovski92113]

I also agree with ascott!!! The light will help stimulate their eating too. Make sure their water is clean! When I had my red eared slider, I had the same issue with swollen eyes, but as soon as I offered a diet change a difference was noted quickly!!! Good luck!!

 

[brichtuban]

Thank you so much!