Please.. I need advice ASAP! (septicemia??)

[Bubblesmom]

I can't make anything out on the photo. lol If a turtle is healthy enough to make motion-o-graphs, they're probably fine.

Septic animals are sluggish and don't eat, and they look bruised, not pink.

So food. Read labels. They'll tell you all you need to know. Pellets are supplemented with vitamin A, so don't add any more. Too much vitamin A is dangerous...vitamin A gets stored in the liver and can be overdosed.

I like the ingredients in Omega and Cobalt pellets.

Omega floats:

OMEGA ONE Adult Turtle Floating Sticks Food, 12.5-oz jar - Chewy.com

Buy Omega One Adult Turtle Floating Sticks Food, 12.5-oz jar at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

Cobalt sinks:

COBALT AQUATICS Ultra Turtle Sticks Floating Fish Food, 3.8-oz bottle - Chewy.com

Buy Cobalt Aquatics Ultra Turtle Sticks Floating Fish Food, 3.8-oz bottle at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

Find the best-quality ingredients you can that your turtle likes...Hikari is a good brand, but if your pet won't eat it, you're just bumping your water's ammonia level and wasting money. My observation is that Omega is hands-down a favorite for all sorts of turtles.

Shrimp as an occasional treat are fine, but bear in mind that they do damage vitamin B1 (thiamine).

Mealworms are basically candy. Fatty, minimal protein, lots of chitin. Nightcrawlers are far more nutritious. If you gather them from a clean, pesticide-free garden or forest, they're fine.

Turtles have rudimentary mouths with no teeth -- no real gripping ability there. So they can seem to fumble with small food items and to be outright uncoordinated with larger prey. Normal. As long as they do eat, no worries. And, what else do they have on their schedules? lol

Turtles are less sensitive to things that will kill fish (fish breathe the water, turtles don't). But you want to make sure that there are not toxic ammonia levels, or that the pH is not acidic. If the water is clear, then your filter is working well and you only need, say, 50% water changes weekly. If your water gets cloudy and stinky quickly, rethink your feeding routine (too much food lying around is the same as too much poo lying around), and evaluate if your filter needs an upgrade.Thank you so much… I actually did order the ime

I'm not an expert on turtles so don't take my word for it but really a test kit does help ease your mind. You might be able to get it cheaper online. I just thought you were right that you were changing the water too much. Also other TFO members that have answered you are saying that you probably don't really need to worry so much and they are way more experienced than me. Probably you have to keep tanks cleaner for fish than a turtle but I could be wrong about that too. The test kit shows you what's going on but doesn't catch everything. A vacuuming hose helps get rid of the debris from poop and food etc that settles down and under from the suction of the filter. ?

Thank you.. I did go on and get the API test kit and all my perimeters are good… my ammonia is .25 so I’m going to do a 50% water change. He’s really active and I think the pinkness is faded… I’m sort of leaning toward the pinkish calcium block and the red pellets… which I’m no longer giving him. He is a picky picky eater!… and takes his time eating! I see him eating what floats all day until he eats it all!

 

[Bubblesmom]

I can't make anything out on the photo. lol If a turtle is healthy enough to make motion-o-graphs, they're probably fine.

Septic animals are sluggish and don't eat, and they look bruised, not pink.

So food. Read labels. They'll tell you all you need to know. Pellets are supplemented with vitamin A, so don't add any more. Too much vitamin A is dangerous...vitamin A gets stored in the liver and can be overdosed.

I like the ingredients in Omega and Cobalt pellets.

Omega floats:

OMEGA ONE Adult Turtle Floating Sticks Food, 12.5-oz jar - Chewy.com

Buy Omega One Adult Turtle Floating Sticks Food, 12.5-oz jar at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

Cobalt sinks:

COBALT AQUATICS Ultra Turtle Sticks Floating Fish Food, 3.8-oz bottle - Chewy.com

Buy Cobalt Aquatics Ultra Turtle Sticks Floating Fish Food, 3.8-oz bottle at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

Find the best-quality ingredients you can that your turtle likes...Hikari is a good brand, but if your pet won't eat it, you're just bumping your water's ammonia level and wasting money. My observation is that Omega is hands-down a favorite for all sorts of turtles.

Shrimp as an occasional treat are fine, but bear in mind that they do damage vitamin B1 (thiamine).

Mealworms are basically candy. Fatty, minimal protein, lots of chitin. Nightcrawlers are far more nutritious. If you gather them from a clean, pesticide-free garden or forest, they're fine.

Turtles have rudimentary mouths with no teeth -- no real gripping ability there. So they can seem to fumble with small food items and to be outright uncoordinated with larger prey. Normal. As long as they do eat, no worries. And, what else do they have on their schedules? lol

Turtles are less sensitive to things that will kill fish (fish breathe the water, turtles don't). But you want to make sure that there are not toxic ammonia levels, or that the pH is not acidic. If the water is clear, then your filter is working well and you only need, say, 50% water changes weekly. If your water gets cloudy and stinky quickly, rethink your feeding routine (too much food lying around is the same as too much poo lying around), and evaluate if your filter needs an upgrade.

Thank you.. yeah that was the best I could get.. was tough holding him in one hand while holding the phone in the other and still trying to snap! But , this guy is active.. I have a bubble wand in his tank and he plays with that thing constantly! I watch him using his head to move it around and then I’ll watch him flapping his front feet at it which I now know that he’s trying to mate!… he’s flirting! And ge eats although he is picky and a really slow eater! But he will eventually eat it all.. and he is a bottom eater!… I stopped the red pellets and no more calcium blocks… I got him a cuttlebone.. but he’s not so interested… I ordered the omega one food … I’ve noticed the pinkness is faded a bit.. I’m chalking it up to the pinkish calcium block and red pellets!… I got the API water test kit and perimeters look good… the ammonia was .25 tho so tomorrow I’ll do a 50% water change. I do think I’ve been changing it way too often… I’m learning something new about this guy every day! Thanks again

 

[Cathie G]

Thank you.. I did go on and get the API test kit and all my perimeters are good… my ammonia is .25 so I’m going to do a 50% water change. He’s really active and I think the pinkness is faded… I’m sort of leaning toward the pinkish calcium block and the red pellets… which I’m no longer giving him. He is a picky picky eater!… and takes his time eating! I see him eating what floats all day until he eats it all!

I have that test kit and it lasts a long time.? It's worth the peace of mind. Eventually with your filter, changing your method of water changes, maybe a vacuuming hose you'll get a pond in a tank going. The vacuuming hose is how I always did my water changes with a fish. It gets the garbage on and under your substrate which can cause the ammonia. I'm not sure what the ammonia level can be with a turtle but it's none with a fish. I've never had a tank for a turtle. As I've read here on this thread it's not quite as hard to do as a tank for a fish. ? Wish I had enough space.?

 

[ZenHerper]

You want to keep ammonia pretty well controlled with any animal living in the water...even though turtles are not breathing the water in, it does touch every part of their external body, inside their mouths and their vents.

Ammonia is acidic, so at high levels it can cause skin/eye burns and affect keratin quality. High ammonia also indicates a high level of unprocessed food or waste...this will incubate pathogenic bacteria and fungal agents that can cause infections or depress immune function in general.

And ammonia stinks. We know how well-developed Chelonian sense of smell is!

Testing ammonia and pH regularly help you keep a pulse on the major water-mediated things that bother and cause illness in turtles.

For turtles that don't eat their entire daily ration in one-go, it is often prudent to give smaller portions throughout the day.

 

[Bubblesmom]

I have that test kit and it lasts a long time.? It's worth the peace of mind. Eventually with your filter, changing your method of water changes, maybe a vacuuming hose you'll get a pond in a tank going. The vacuuming hose is how I always did my water changes with a fish. It gets the garbage on and under your substrate which can cause the ammonia. I'm not sure what the ammonia level can be with a turtle but it's none with a fish. I've never had a tank for a turtle. As I've read here on this thread it's not quite as hard to do as a tank for a fish. ? Wish I had enough space.?

Yes it is gonna be worth it but is was a pretty penny! All my perimeters are good.. my ammonia is 0.25 and really should be 0 but from all I can tell I’m ok. I’m gonna do a small water change tomorrow. I did invest in a vacuum which is a lifesaver!… I actually do vacuum the bottom every couple days.. but don’t really take enough water to even replace. So, yeah, this little guy has cost me some bucks here!! lol.. but he is worth every cent!

 

[Cathie G]

Yes it is gonna be worth it but is was a pretty penny! All my perimeters are good.. my ammonia is 0.25 and really should be 0 but from all I can tell I’m ok. I’m gonna do a small water change tomorrow. I did invest in a vacuum which is a lifesaver!… I actually do vacuum the bottom every couple days.. but don’t really take enough water to even replace. So, yeah, this little guy has cost me some bucks here!! lol.. but he is worth every cent!

Well you've done the investment but you'll see how long the kit lasts and I tested pretty much once a week. Also you already have the other stuff too. My Betta set up cost about $400. I spent way too much money and got everything on sale too. I have enough brand new stuff to do it again ? And the little fish was only about $20.? When and if I do another tank I still have the first kit I bought with ammonia and pH being the most important. That's easy. The vacuuming hose is the bomb ?? Have so much fun ??

 

[mark1]

i keep fish with all my water turtles , my opinion is the water should be the same quality for turtles as fish ........ i keep emerald shiners which are native to my area and are used by biologist as bio-indicators of water quality in rivers and streams around here ....... water changes with aged or dechlorinated water will not affect your biological filtration (much) . i'm under the assumption that nitrifying bacteria live on surfaces , not in the water column ......

 

[Bubblesmom]

Well you've done the investment but you'll see how long the kit lasts and I tested pretty much once a week. Also you already have the other stuff too. My Betta set up cost about $400. I spent way too much money and got everything on sale too. I have enough brand new stuff to do it again ? And the little fish was only about $20.? When and if I do another tank I still have the first kit I bought with ammonia and pH being the most important. That's easy. The vacuuming hose is the bomb ?? Have so much fun ??

Thank you!