I have a red eared turtle and i cant tell if it has fungus and eye infection?

Question

i just bought it today and i found out it has like a whitish or gray flay part on its neck is it fungus cause i dont know. Also what temparature does the water have to be? and also do i really need a uv light?

Anoher thing is that its eyes dont open when i grab it only when i tilt it is it tired or sick? Also that i bought it at a flea market and the water was terrible like green and now i have it in clean water but what temperaturedo i need it on? How do i feed it and what? Also the fungus treatment(no vetereniam) cause its too far! Last how can i tell its not fungus how does it look its kind of flaky but not noticable but strange like white.

Answer 1

http://flickr.com/photos/29035692@N03/se...

Calm down ..fungus looks like cotton,like fuzz and white ,or off white.

Swollen eyes means he hasn't had his veggies,seriously. Is he rubbing his eyes at all.They need leafy greens.

Is he coughing or blowing bubbles from his nose?

The bigger the environment the bigger the healthier the turtle. Remember 10 gallons for every inch of turtle. I have used kiddy pools and plastic pond liners from most nurseries and worked great. Walmart has a 55 gallon set with hood, hood light, and filter for $153.00. You still need a replite UVA/UVB and heater.

Did you know that they need to bask under a reptile light UVA/UVB for 8 to 10 hrs a day for the vitamin D that they need to grow. So that means getting a turtle dock also.

Leave the heater on 75 to 78 degrees always. These turtles in captivity do not hibernate their eating may slow down some but they will not hibernate.

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

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer front nails and are used in mating. And are considered mature at about 5 yrs old. You can’t start sexing till about  3” across.

You need a good filter system! Gravel larger than they can swallow.

You need to feed them feeder guppies, goldfish or minnows for protein and calcium daily drop 20 or so in the tanks and watch them disappear in a few days! When I got these two 36 yrs ago all we had in back then  were goldfish to feed , so after 36 yrs and still going strong. They can eat goldfish! I spend about 175.00 a month on fish ,goldfish and minnows. An Extra  75.00 on leafy greens and dried cubed tubiflex worms.

This way when they swim for their dinner they get exercise also!

They sleep at the bottom of rivers, streams. lakes or ponds or your tank to avoid predators like coyotes,  foxes, owls, hawks, possums, raccoons and even some wide mouth bass.

TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

They can have garden worms, meal worms, snails, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, dragon flies and  anything that moves, but only as a treat.

They need leafy greens Romaine, Butter lettuce. (Iceberg and cabbage are bad for them, any other leafy greens will do) for vitamin A that they need at least 3 to 4 times a week.

You probably already know that they get sick easily, shell rot, respiratory sickness, lopsided swimming, coughing, blowing bubbles from their nose.

**Swollen cloudy eyes means lacking in Vitamin A. Which we all need for good eyes. Google ‘vegetables with Vitamin A.

Contact the “www.anapsid.org/societies, for a turtle vet /  rescue in your city and state.

I wish you luck.

Answer 2

I'm pretty sure it's not any fungus. I would never buy a turtle at a flea market because they never treat their stuff well. If its eyes are brown then you have a problem. You should always check their eyes and see how active they are. If its eyes are brown then it probably has an eye infection. If you ever have the time you should call the vet and tell them what's wrong. Alright so you say you think it has fungus, it doesnt. Fungus is sort of like cotton.

Turtle Care.

What you'd want to do is buy a reasonable tank for the turtle. I got a 10 gallon tank as soon as I got it. What a mistake that was because it grew fast and it outgrown its tank. I would advise you to get a 20 or 30 gallon tank so you wont have to buy a new tank any time soon. If you go to Wal-Mart or a a nearby Fish Store they should have a type of food called ReptoMins. ReptoMins is for Reptile, like Turtles. Turtles love ReptoMins. But it gets them big. I used to give my turtle letuce once in a while. It ate it most of the time.

Tank and Decorartions

Alright well like I said a while ago 20-30 Gallon tank should be fine. You shouldnt put in too much water. The reason why is because if you do then the turtle will get sick. Turtles can get sick when they are in the water too much. You should fill up the tank to halfway. If you'd like to put in decorations, you can put in plants to make them feel like they're in their habitat. Also if you go to a Fish Store they should have a Turtle Dock. The Turtle Dock is for the turtles to go onto and bask. Yes you'd need the UV Light so they can get off the old skin. The Ub light brings the heat to their skin and sort of ripps it apart in a way. That way the old skin comes off and they have new skin. It's kind of that process. The temperature shouldnt be too high...nor too low. It should just be ok. You wouldnt want to have to turtle very cold and then very hott.

Wow! This is alot. I hope this helps you.

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Jason

Owner of Turtles

Answer 3

ok i dont think its an infection..  what you need to do is set up a proper tank   i started with a starter tank..and just upgraded to a 150gallon

if its small get it in a 20+ gallon tank..  petco has a starter kit .. comes with everythng you need.. if you cant get it set it up like this

tank

basking rock that floats in water

water filling the tank 3/4 ..

get a basking light with a uvb bulb ..75 watts .. attach it to the tank..or get a screen for the top of the tank and let the light sit on there

get a 100 watt submergable heater... (get a protector for the end.. the turtle will chill on this.. you dont wanna burn him)..

if you like get another lamp with daylight uva bulb ... its only for looks

get a decent filter.. something double the size of the tank... turtles poo alotttt

as for food .. feed it reptomin baby turtle pellets for the first 6 mths then get him on dried krill..  

keep the water at 75o  or 30o celcius... do this and it will be fine