Medication ( Turtles )

Question
QUESTION: Respected Madam ,

         I have 2 small turtles from past 2 week's one of my turtle is not eating anything and he got some infection around his neck and when he's in the water he tilts to one side and swims and the other 1 is just having infection . I am not sure weather its fungus or his dead skin is shedding off. Currently i give them Regular worms , Blood Worms , raw Prawns , chicken , liver and a week ago i got few feeder Gold fishes for them . I consulted a Doctor she prescribed me ( Betadine Lotion ) for fungus but I am tensed coz its not working with them . I would be thankful to you mam if you help me out .

ANSWER: Hi Anoop,

It would be helpful to know the species in order to give you better care information.  If you've only had them two weeks, it sounds like they were probably in poor shape from the start.  Swimming lopsided (tilted) is a classic symptom of a respiratory infection (pneumonia), and is pretty serious.  I think you need to go back to your vet and request a specific diagnosis and treatment for both of them.  A vague diagnosis of infection or fungus isn't very helpful, and the one turtle at least needs a course of antibiotics for the respiratory infection.

Skin infections and fungus are often due to poor water quality, although your turtles may have gotten it from the conditions they were kept in before you got them.  Make sure they have a sizable tank with adequate swimming room and good filtration, plus a good basking area--they shouldn't be in the water all the time unless they're a species that doesn't bask often.  Water temperature should be roughly 78 degrees, and the basking area 88-90 degrees.  A good source of UVB is also important.  If the shop told you to keep them in a bowl of water or other small container, they gave you very bad information.  I'm going to give you a link to a website on red-eared sliders, as that is the most common pet turtle, as well as a link to general information on turtle care.  You can look up information specific to your turtles if you have the species name.

www.redearslider.com
http://tortoise.org/general/watcare.html
  

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QUESTION: Thanks a lot for your suggesion Madam . Ihave got an other Question too . They don't eat Turtle food , so is that alrite . I had got Turtle food for them but they are not having it . I give them Regular Worms , Blood Worms , Prawns , Chicken , Liver and 2 week's ago i got small feeder gold fish for them to  eat . Is this the correct Diet for them . If i want them to be Veggy what should i do ? I got some info. in the internet and it says that keeping them Vegetarian is the best . Is it correct ? So what should their diet be in Veg. ? Mam i dont know of what species my turtles are ? One thing i could tell you is they have got Orange slides on their neck as in like " Red Slider's " have got . I could send you their Picture if not a problem with you . Once again thank you Mam 4 ur help .

Answer
I'm guessing that the turtle food is poor quality and that's why they won't eat it.  It may just be dried krill or shrimp, which doesn't seem to be very appetizing to them.  Go ahead and throw it out.  Without knowing the species I can't say for sure what the proper diet is, because different species have different diets.  Many, but not all, species are omnivorous, which means they eat both animal and plant matter.  Typically the juveniles will be more carnivorous and the adults more vegetarian.  You can't force a turtle to be vegetarian, and it would be unhealthy to try.  The best thing is a good, varied diet, so try offering both the meat you're giving and leafy greens (NOT vegetables) such as turnip and dandelion greens, collards, kale, mustard, etc.  No vegetables, just greens along with the variety of meat.  You can also put a cuttlebone in the tank so they can nibble on it for extra calcium if they need it.

You can link to a picture if you have a very clear one.  Here's a link to pictures of red-eared sliders that may help you:  http://chelonia.org/trachemysgallery.htm