I have 2 baby red eared slider i think there sick plz help!!

Question

i bought them at china town 3 days ago . i have a plastic tank 7.5 gallons. i use big gravel rocks. i have about 3 inches of water the water is 82 degrees and the basking spot is 86 degrees . i have a filter and a basking lamp. there names are Gibby and Ziggy they both are 2 inches from head to tail. Gibby is active and swims a little. he is all ways trying to escape and when ever he swims he floats .he has not ate any thing so far not even a bite. i have tried reptomin mini sticks,baby shrimp, mini krill and iv tried nutrafin basix floating turtle gammarus pellets. Ziggy sleeps almost all day long and the only time he gets into the water is when Gibby hits him into the water and when he tries to get back on land he cant he swims kinda slow and barley uses his feet for any thing. he seems vary weak and also floats on water.when he is on land he cant move himself. he has not bin eating either .he has a soft under shell.and i cant go to the vet. what should i do / get?

Answer 1

Oh goodness.  I know you are looking for help, and don't want to hear "take it to the vet," but turtles aren't cheap to keep, and they require a lot of care to be healthy.  It sounds like Ziggy is in serious trouble, and needs to see a vet.

They cannot live in a tiny tank, Sweetie.  You can't set up their temperatures correctly and I'm wondering if they are not in fact too hot (but if they were, Ziggy would want to be in water, unless he's too weak to move).  What are you using to measure the temperatures for the water and basking area?

You need an Infrared thermometer gun, or a digital probe thermometer.  Strip thermometers can be inaccurate up to 20 degrees, and can't be relied on.  

The water should be 78-80 degrees F., and the basking area should be about 10 degrees warmer than that.

The trouble is - you got the turtles before you learned what they need, or how to take care of them.  I would suggest taking them back and seeing if you can get a refund.  Then doing research to learn how to care for baby turtles, before you go and get more.

There is just too much you need to know for me to type it all here.  I'll post links below which you can check out for illnesses, but if you haven't had turtles before, things like rot and respiratory illnesses can be hard to spot, or diagnosis.

Here are some links to help you learn what you need to know BEFORE you get your turtles:

FEEDING:

http://reslider.free.fr/backup/feeding.h...

GENERAL CARE:

http://www.redearslider.com/

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/ca...

http://www.parcplace.org/yellowbellislid...

CROWDING AGGRESSION - BEHAVIOR:

http://redearslider.com/unusual_behavior...

GENERAL ILLNESSES:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/me...

http://www.geocities.com/margareth100.ge...

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help, and good luck with the lil guys.

Answer 2

that is a very small tank!!!!!!!!!!!!! One red eared slider requires at least a 75 gallon tank! And you have 2! You really need to upgrade to at least a 50 gallon tank, please, for your turtles sake! Here is a red eared slider care sheet, for more info go to AustinsTurtlePage.com.  first read all of this and see if you have this setup, it costs at least $300, and is a regular setup. All the stuff is expensive!- Really, you have to be very responsible to own a pet turtle, because they are a huge responsibility. You have to be a loving, caring person who is willing to care for a turtle every single day! Really it is a big job for some people, but if you are willing to accept the challenge then go for it.

************ This is a setup for a red eared slider the most common type of turtle, they get up to 12 inches, but you will see them as babies at a store commonly, so know that they will grow very big**************

You will need to get a 50 gallon starter tank and upgrade to a 75 gallon later on when your turtle is over 6 inches...If you can not get that big of a tank right now then for now you can use a huge rubbermaid container filled up with clean warm water 5/6 of the way. The water should be 75-82F, that can be achieved by buying a water heater at the petstore, along with a water filter. Water filters that are best are canister filters, like the Rena xp3 filter which costs $200, but filters very well. Do buy a filter please, even a cheap one at $25, is better then none at all, since turtles are extremely messy and p**p-ful (haha). The bottom of the tank should be bare, no gravel because they could choke on that mistaking it for food. On top of the water you need 3 things, 1. a basking dock ( buy a large size zoomed basking dock). 2. you 100% need to buy a basking lamp+bulb, you buy them separatly, then s***w the bulb in ( 50 watts) and shine it on the basking dock over a mesh hood( cut a hole out of it and place the light there!). 3. This is very important, you need a uvb light. It is a long thin light, you need to get the actual lamp+ the long skinny bulb. Reptosun 5.0 is the best bulb( together costs $55). Shine that onto the basking dock as well. Turtles need these together because they use the uva for heat, so they stay warm ( the basking site should be 90-95F, not colder) and they need the uvb rays to metabolize calcium and vitamin d3 for a stronger shell ( like you need it for your bones!) The diet for the turtle should be reptomin pellets ( and other nutricuos pellets!) crickets, mealworms, bloodworms, shrimp, and krill. All of this is found dead at the petstore!;) They also need vegetation, get kale, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, and collard greens. Drop all of the food in the tank once a day, and remove any leftover bits after a few hours. By the way ALL of the protien food ( dead food, that was alive once) should be dusted with a calcium supplement ( powder) and you need to get a cuttlebone found in the bird aisle of the petstore and drop it in the water for him to knaw on, keep it there for a while (month) until she eats all of it, then get another. Once all of these things are done your turtle will be pretty happy!

Answer 3

I had the same problem and I made sure that they had land to climb up on and then I got a heat light and I saw a change cuz they were more active but then I changed food and kept the old food as a snack and now they are great!

Answer 4

for the turtle without the soft shell the not eating part may be normal. they get very stressed when changing environments. if they dont eat in about a week then you probably have a problem.  try different foods like crickets and mealworms.  the turtle with a soft shell is most likely already sick.  soft shell is extremely dangerous to turtles.  small things can be done to help such as increasing its calcium intake but vet care is honesty the best thing for it.  i really dont mean to be rude but when you buy pets you have to expect the possibility of vetcare and its not fair to the animals if proper treatment isnt provided. watch the other turtle closely because soft shell is contagious.  

this may help shell rot/ soft shell-

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

i recommend this untill they want to eat-

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

this site may help-

http://www.turtle-central.com/illnesses....

your turtles also need a bigger tank.  at least get a 20 gallon.

when they are better and not so weak raise the tank level about half way up. aquatic turtles like the most water room possible.

Answer 5

well i dont know but i use to volenter at the zoo close to here and some of the lizards had problems with there back legs and would not move a lot and we gave them calci pawder and it seemed to help so try that and thats normal for a turtle to b lazy check this site out maby it will help you http://www.anapsid.org/  

Answer 6

Okay that is a small tank for two red eared sliders! You're going to need way more than that when they get older! They need 75 gal for one, 120 gal for two. They need more than half of the tank in water. However, your basking and water is a great temperature. Good Job for research! You did well except for the tank size.

By your description, they are not happy at all with their surroundings in terms when it comes to swimming and land. That's possibly why they're not eating. A soft undershell is bad. Give him plenty of calcium. Why can't you go to the vet? He/she might know what to do.

Next time, don't get turtles from china town, you don't know how they got them.

I hope i helped!

Answer 7

First off is the tank is WAYYYYY to small Gibby sounds like she has a respitory infection.. ***Respiratory Infections *****Sliders, cooter, map, painted, yellow bellied and other aquatic species are susceptible to respiratory infections. Many respiratory infections that can affect sliders are mild and easily treatable in their EARLY stages, but there are also some particularly virulent infections that can kill a turtle very quickly without veterinary attention. Sliders usually develop respiratory infections when their tank is too cold. **Symptoms of an infection include a runny nose, wheezing, lopsided swimming (an ailing lung changes the turtle’s buoyancy), lethargy, and a refusal to eat. If you identify the illness in its early stages, you may be able to treat it by removing the sick slider from its quarters into a new, clean tank (especially if you keep multiple sliders, since the majority of respiratory infections are contagious) and keeping it a few degrees warmer than normal. Warmth is the most crucial factor in treating respiratory infections in the home. If the condition persists for more than a few days or worsens, bring your slider to your veterinarian, who will treat the infection with antibiotics.”

***Contact the “herpetologicalsocieties.com, for a turtle vet in your city and state.

have had them in a pond for about 6 yrs now..

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light for  8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that  they need to grow.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always.

Their water needs to be clean otherwise they get sick easily from dirty water cause they p**p allot.

You need a good filter system!

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily.

They need leafy greens for vitamins at least 3 to 4 times a week.

And a big tank 55 gallons or more..

http://www.flickr.com/photos/29035692@N0...