There is somthing wrong with my turtle, please help...?

Question

i have a yellow bellied slider turtle, and lately, hes just been basking in the land area of his tank 24/7, and when ever i put him in the water, he either slowly walks back to land, or just sits there. i try to feed him while hes in the water, but he doesnt even look at it, and this has been going on for about 2 weeks now, please help me...

Answer 1

Well the same thing happened with my read-eared slider turtle. It went about a month just sitting on a rock and not eating then it died........

Answer 2

hhhmmmm.....

same thing went on with my turtle 4 about 3 weeks. he died after that.

:(     sorry about ur turtle!!!

Answer 3

sounds sick and maybe dying?  

Do you feed fish and leafy greens and basking time of 8 to 10 hrs? Is his tank big enough to swim and catch his fish?

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.

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.

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!

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, crickets, flies, crayfish small frogs, dragon flies and  anything that moves 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.

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

Answer 4

when turtles have a lack in appetite that is almost always a sign that something is wrong.  the most common turtle illness is a respiratory infection.  signs of a turtle with a respiratory infection are- not eating, not swimming, swimming lopsided, weezing, snot bubbles, and puffy eyes.  i personally think that this is what your turtle has.  with any sick turtle the temp should be raised a few degrees.  also soak your turtle in warm water twice a day.  keeping the turtle warm is a key part in getting him back on track.  to keep him hydrated and nourished i strongly recommend this-

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

you can also crush his pellet food up and add it to the mix if desired.

along with cleaning the tank once a week, do some frequent (every day or so) water changes.  just take a 4th out and replace it.  keeping a sick turtles water clean is very important.  

all of the above will help him but i can honestly say that vet care is the best thing for him.  once a turtle is sick they will most likely die without vet care.  i can also say that the vet care isnt terribly espensive either.  sometimes a regular cat/dog vet can help.  so ask your local vets because they can either treat him or recommend someone who can.  if it is indeed a respiratory infection they will most likely give him an antibiotic called baytril.  baytril is used on almost all animals so can buy it at normal vets.  vets usually will tell you to soak the turtle in baytril for  a specific amount of time so many times a day.  

with vet care there is a good chance of your turtle being fine.

more info-

http://www.redearslider.com/sick_turtle....

http://www.chelonia.org/Articles/bcwater... of the sites above say that they are for res but they will work for yellow bellies.

Answer 5

take him to a vet ASAP he could be very sick, and die within days, he may have eaten something in the tank that could have harmed him, i dont know, but please take him to a vet as soon as you can

Answer 6

I own a yellow bellied slider, too.  Make sure your temperatures and your PH balances are right.  That's the first thing that can be pretty easy to fix.  Make sure the basking area has a UV bulb lamp, too.

If the temperatures are ok and you have a UV bulb, it could be his diet.  If you go to your locals pet store, they usually sell a product for pregnant or reptiles or reptiles with slow metabolisms.  This is sometimes found in the bearded dragon section.  It is great to get your turtle eating again, and if you put that stuff on it's food it will eat it right away.  

Usually when this type of thing happens it is because of temperatures.  Although sometimes it will be because it ate a pebble or something is stuck in its system in which you will have to take it  to the vet.

Hope this helps!

Answer 7

wash his vag.

Answer 8

If your temperatures are correct (warm enough) and he's not attempting to hibernate, then I would suggest that you take him to the vet.

http://www.redearslider.com/index_habita...

Reptiles are slow to show signs of illness and by the time they are exibiting symptoms, it's usually pretty progressed.  They are also slow to heal, so time is important.

If you don’t already know of a qualified exotics/reptile vet in your area, google: “Herpetological Society” -or-

http://www.herpvetconnection.com/  for the one closest to you.

Please check out these links on illnesses and ailments, to see if you recognize the symptoms your turtles is displaying.

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

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

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

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...

http://www.sdturtle.org/WATER%20TURTLE%2...

Get him the help he needs, and I hope he's better soon.

I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help.