FAQs About Red Ear Slider Turtle
Disease/Health: References
Related Articles: Treating Common Illnesses of
the Red Ear Slider (& other Emydid Turtles) by Darrel
Barton, The Care and
Keeping of the Red Eared Slider, Trachemys scripta
elegans by Darrel Barton, Turtle eye diseases; Recognising
and treating eye diseases in pet turtles by Neale
Monks, So your turtle has the Flu?
Recognising and treating respiratory infections in pet
turtles by Neale Monks, The Care
and Keeping of the Red Eared Slider, Trachemys scripta
elegans by Darrel Barton, Red Ear Sliders, Turtles, Amphibians, Red Eared Slider Care, Shell Rot in Turtles,
Related FAQs: RES Disease/Health 1, RES Disease/Health 2, RES Disease 3, RES
Health 4, RES Health 5, RES Health 6, RES
Health 7, RES Health 8, RES Health 9, RES
Health 10, & Shell Rot,
Turtle Disease 1, Turtle Disease 3, Shell Rot, Turtle Respiratory Disease, Turtle Eye Disease,
FAQs on RES Health by Type: Diagnosis, Environmental, Traumas, Social, Nutritional, Growths/Tumors, Infectious, Parasitic,
& Sliders 1, Sliders 2, Red Eared
Slider Identification, RES
Behavior, RES Compatibility,
RES Selection, RES Systems, RES
Feeding, RES Reproduction,
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There's some advice on finding a 'herp
vet' listed here: http://www.anapsid.org/vets/
ZooMed.com
DrsFosterSmith.com
http://redearslider.com
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/herpvets.htm
ISBN: 978-0721652085 Reptile Medicine and Surgery
by Douglas R. Mader
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My red eared slider is very sick, please help.
8/15/12
Dear Crew,
<Hiya - Darrel here>
I am not sure how old it is, but its shell is almost 2 inches. It has
been acting abnormally for about 2 weeks. He is barely active and has
only eaten once in about a week, and that was only a mealworm.
<Not a good sign>
His eyes are swollen and he rarely opens them.
<Yes, he's sick>
His color is slightly fading. He occasionally opens his mouth. I
originally thought he had a respiratory infection, so I have some
Baytril coming in the mail. About an hour ago I went to pick him up and
noticed his shell is becoming soft. I have been looking up the symptoms
and think he has MBD. I would feed him calcium rich food, but he is not
eating and since he is so small I am scared I may hurt him if I try to
force feed him. I live in a very small town and have called all the herp
vets near by and all of them are out of town for about a week.
<He needs calcium and vitamins injected. Luckily he doesn't need a
"herp vet" for that. Ask your vet to supply "Calcium Gluconate
50 mg/kg IM every other day for 6 days" to be injected in the
front leg and a general purpose multivitamin at 100 IU/kg subq weekly
for 2 weeks >
I have two RES but the other one is perfectly fine. I have them in a 10
gallon tank, about 2/3 the way full of water. I have a running filter
and a heater. I read to adjust the heater to 80F to help him heal so I
plan on doing that. I have a floating dock for them to bask on and have
a lamp about 2 feet above it with a 38 watt light bulb. My mom works at
the vet in town but they only treat dogs and cats, so I may be able to
receive some help from them but very minimal.
<first, both turtles need to be kept warm and DRY for the time being.
Read how (and why) to dry-dock a turtle while it's healing here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/treating%20RES%20Dis%20DarrelB.htm
As you'll read, every condition he has is brought on by a combination of
environment and diet>
Anything would be appreciated, I am extremely worried about him and do
not know what to do. If it would help I could give him a calcium
injection. I have the proper needle and calcium pills that I could
dilute in water, but I would not do that unless I knew it was safe.
<Ground up pills injected would probably be fatal. Use Calcium
Gluconate as stated. Your vet will have plenty of it>
The Baytril should be here tomorrow. I am extremely worried about the
soft shell and lack of eating and lack of activity.
<DO NOT administer Baytril yet! It's extremely toxic to the
animal and in its weakened state we don't need it yet.
Calcium and vitamins and complete change to a warm and dry environment
first!>
<Tell your mom that
every dog & cat Veterinarian should have a copy if
my friend Doug Mader's book: Reptile Medicine and Surgery, 2nd Edition
from Dr. Douglas Mader. ISBN-9780721693279. Simple references to
basic treatments have helped many veterinarians help many patients that
are out of their normal field of expertise>
My red eared slider is very sick, please help. 8/15/12
I am not completely sure of my rd
<?>
Re: My red eared slider is very sick, please help. - 8/17/12
Thank you very much.
<Yer welcome!>
I managed to get a vet appt in for tomorrow so I will take him in to get
the calcium&vitamins. I went and bought a cuttlebone (and I chipped off
the back), and Zilla Calcium Supplemental food spray today. My mom
picked up Zilla caloric supplement and appetite stimulant, but I do not
plan on using it until I know it is safe and if he does not eat on his
own.
Thank you for your help, I will go dry dock them both tonight.
<Good moves. Once you get him healthy again and if you feed
him Koi pellets and an occasional earthworm, he'll get all the vitamins
and minerals he needs. Cool, clean water, a warm basking
area with good UV-B sunlight and all can stay well!>
Help Needed with my Red Eyed Slider Turtle, blood, hlth.,
Vet. -- 06/9/10
Hi !!!
<Hi Sameer!! Sue here with you.>
Need help... I have a pair of Red Eyed Turtle-
<they are actually called Red Eared Slider Turtles>
males- aged approximately 3.5 years. I noticed small blood spots around
Cadbury's ( my turtle's name) anal area this afternoon. I fed
it, and it ate food as usual. I then washed its anal region with Dettol
added in water and applied Soframycin skin cream near its bleeding anal
region. I will be taking him to the Vet, however I would really
appreciate your insights on this. It does have long nails and it has
never been sick until today. Please advise.
< My first thought was like yours that your turtle should be seen as
soon as possible by a veterinarian. However, in response to your
question about offering additional advice, I checked with another
colleague to see if there was anything additional he could offer you.
He agreed that first and foremost anything involving blood is an
indication that the turtle needs to be seen by a veterinarian -
preferably a herp veterinarian who specializes in turtles. Nothing we
have or can offer will substitute for an experienced, hands on
examination. Aside from that, he said that sometimes turtles can ingest
small stones from the gravel bed that tear up their insides as they
pass. If it's small enough TO pass, then it does little damage and
the tears heal. However, if it keeps bleeding, then any form of
treatment is merely treating only the symptom ...making it even more
incumbent that you seek veterinary help. Meanwhile...keep the area warm
and DRY until it heals. 1 turtle tank + a cut is an invitation to
infection.>
Thanks & Regards, Sameer
<You're welcome, Sameer. I hope your turtle gets better. Please
let us know how it turns out!>
Re: Help Needed with my Red Eyed Slider Turtle --
06/9/10
Hello Sue and WWM team,
<Hello, Sameer!>
Thanks a lot for replying back and your valuable feedback.
<You're welcome! I'm glad it was of some help.>
Here are few updates:
1) I have been unable to locate a herp Veterinarian around and am still
searching for one in my city who specializes in turtles.
<If you find you are unable to locate one in your area through your
own search, you may want to check out this link and see if it
helps:
http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/herpvets.htm
This is a respected website, with links on this page to specialized
reptile vets all around the world. Hopefully, there will be someone on
the list for you that's at least within a reasonable distance from
where you live. It's always helpful to have the name and phone
number of a good veterinarian handy just in case of an
emergency'¦ though it may turn out that you might have to
drive several hours to see one (which is even more of a reason to have
that information handy when needed so less time you need to spend
conducting a search for one when you're in the middle of a crisis)!
Check also to see if there are any reptile associations near where you
live. If so, this could potentially be another good resource for
you.>
2) With regards to the bleeding part, it's not bleeding anymore (
nor was there a blood flow yesterday) but rather there was a blood
stain around its anal region which really panicked me.
<I can certainly understand that, I would have reacted the same way.
I'm glad to see that you haven't noticed anymore blood stains.
Perhaps then it might have been something he swallowed that irritated
or scraped the inside of his intestines. Just keep a watch out for any
further blood stains '¦which from your very well thought out
messages, I can tell you already are!>
3) As mentioned earlier and pointed by you, I am only placing Cadbury
in water tank when I have to feed him that's barely 15/20 min.s.
And have been washing his tail region with a Dettol added luke warm
water, drying his tail and then applying the Soframycin cream ( This
cream is usually prescribed by doctors for treating wounds, helps in
disinfecting the wound as well) and I hold him in my hand for 20/30
minutes to let the cream marinate in his skin. Did this trice a day
yesterday and twice today.
<Sounds like you are taking very good care of Cadbury! He is lucky
to have you watching out for him!!>
4) Secondly, he has been behaving very normally as always, begs for
food, eats well too, walks every where in the house, sleeps in his
regular place ( under my bed) and fights with the Poppins ( my 2nd
turtle) when I placed him in tank with him.
<This is more good news! (Except for the fighting, sounds like some
discipline is in order!>
These are a few updates for now. I shall anyways be taking him to a
Vet, as soon as I find one in my city and let you know the details.
<Please try out the above link and see if that helps. If not, and
you're still having difficulty, I'll see if anyone else on the
crew might have some recommendations for you.>
Thank you so very much for your time. Have a beautiful day ahead and
God Bless you and all you folks who work for the website.
<You're very welcome. And thank you for your kind wishes, same
for you and Cadbury. Please let us know if any further concerns arise
with him!>
Thanks & Regards,
Sameer
I think my turtle is sick! 1/15/09 Ok I'm
freaking out.....I just noticed that my one of my sliders has developed
a bump on the side of his neck and his eye (on the same side where the
bump is) is a little pink in the corner. The water is partially changed
once a week and I have treated the water with Turtle clean. There are
five turtles total in the tank. I have added a ReptoGuard tablet and I
want to know if there is anything else I should do? <Without seeing
a photo of the turtle, it is difficult to be sure, but this sounds like
either a tumour, some type of sub-dermal infection and swelling, or
perhaps a nutritional imbalance similar to goiter in humans caused by a
poor diet. In any case, your turtle will need to be taken to see a vet.
Do understand that you don't have any options here, unless
you're happy leaving an animal to suffer. Internal problems
generally can't be treated at home. There's some advice on
finding a 'herp vet' listed here: http://www.anapsid.org/vets/ Since
most problems with turtles are caused by improper care, the easiest way
to prevent sickness is to understand the needs of your turtles. Be sure
to review Daniel Barton's article, here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm
In particular, note the non-negotiable requirements for space, warmth,
green foods, and UV-B lighting. Miss out on any of these, and your
turtles WILL get sick. Cheers, Neale.>
Turtle twitching/shaking head rapidly 1/7/08
I have a red eared slider that was kind of dumped on me by a friend who
was neglecting it, but since then I have taken very good care of him.
He is about a year old, maybe a little younger. He has a large tank
with a water heater, a swimming area and a dry area with a proper
basking lamp, and the temperatures are fine and the water is clean and
his diet his healthy. (I've done a lot of research since I first
got him). Yesterday I noticed the he was acting VERY strangely.
<Oh?> He is basking much more then usual and when he is on his
log he seems very agitated. He flicks his arms and legs out quickly and
shakes his head back and forth rapidly. <Hmm... not typical for
solitary turtles.> It almost looks like he is trying to scratch his
face, but he does flick his back legs a lot also. It is very bizarre to
watch and it has me really worried! I love the little guy :( He also
constantly turns around on the log in between the twitching, and he
will often jump into the water only to quickly come back out. <Agree
its odd, but unless there are reasons to suspect disease or vitamin
deficiency, I'm not sure its indicative of anything (at least, not
to me). Let's assume your turtle has access to UV-B light (do check
this: not all basking lamps are UV-B, some are UV-A, and some just
plain regular light). Let's further assume that it's getting a
balanced diet rich in greens and not too rich in anything containing
thiaminase (for example, shrimp or fish). The issue here is that
thiaminase and lack of UV-B cause vitamin deficiencies, and among the
possible problems are damage to the nerves, and this can indeed
manifest itself as odd movements such as convulsions. Although not
particularly common in turtles because most species are more or less
herbivorous, this is a serious problems for things like garter snakes
often given a fish-based diet.> When he is in the water he seems
fine, and his eyes are as bright and alert as always. He is a very
active turtle but I've never seen him do this. It's almost like
he is having a seizure. <At least some of these behaviours might be
social, for example threat behaviours aimed at you. But I don't
really know, and haven't heard of these sorts of problems in
turtles that are otherwise healthy and receiving the correct diet.>
I would love any advice. I live in a very small town and the vet
wasn't much help. Thanks Sam <For now, would observe, taking
specific care to notice appetite and any signs of things like eye or
respiratory tract infections. Odd swimming behaviour is one sign of
respiratory tract infections as fluid in the lungs causes problems with
buoyancy, but this won't be apparent on land. (On the other hand,
wheezing and mucous production are good signs of an RTI, so be on the
alert for them.) If the turtle is female and above a certain size/age,
say 10 cm/3 years, then egg binding can cause female turtles to behave
erratically. Uncorrected, this can lead to major problems, so do sex
your turtle, and be prepared for egg laying if "he" turns out
to be a "she". There's a great run down of "odd
behaviours" over at the excellent Red Ear Slider web site, here:
http://redearslider.com/unusual_behavior.html
Do have a look over them, and see if anything sounds familiar. Cheers,
Neale.>
Self-Abusing Turtle Bites Himself in Japan Dear WWM , I have
a male red eared slider that is about 2 -3 years old in his own tank.
Recently (last few weeks) he has started to bite his left front
hand/claw keratin bits. One of the pieces of keratin is starting to
look a bit inflamed and pale pinkish, not like a normal white keratin
piece - like he has had a good gnaw at it. Is this self-biting normal
and do you think he has potentially infected his claw/hand by biting
it? If it is a potential problem, what can I do to fix it? Thank you
for your time. Regards, Farah < At one point in time there was
probably some food stuck on his claw and as he attempted to get to it
he mistakenly bit himself. Now he probably thinks the reddish
coloration is still food. I would clean the tank and keep it that way
to help prevent the infection from getting worse. I would add a Dr
Turtle sulfa block to treat the bacterial infection. I would then feed
the turtle several times a day to prevent him from getting so hungry he
will prefer the food instead of his claw. When the claw starts to grow
back and turn back to a more normal color I would make sure he is well
fed so he doesn't go back to his old bad habits.-Chuck>
More Turtle Trouble in Japan Dear Chuck. Thank you for your e-mail.
The claw is actually still intact - it's just the keratin piece
above it that has got inflamed. Just another quick question if
that's OK - we live in Japan and can't get Dr Turtle Sulfa
Block's here. Can you point me to a website that sells these and
would be prepared to deliver to Japan. If not, what would be a good
substitute for Dr Turtle's sulfa block? Thanks again for your time.
Regards, Farah < Go to ZooMed.com. They now have a mail order business or may be able
to direct you to a shop in Japan. DrsFosterSmith.com would
probably be able top help you too. Before I would go to the US for
something I think I would go to a pet shop in Japan and try and find
Japanese equivalent. Maybe print out the ZooMed Dr. Turtle page from
the website and take it with you. If you speak Japanese I am sure they
will be able to help you.-Chuck>
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