Very Sick RES

Question
Began gaping 2-3 wks ago. Moved to hosp. tank, increased temps. UVB, heater, heatlamp, filter. Reptomin, chicken, boiled ground turkey, ciclid sticks, freeze dried shrimp & krill. Water cleaned every 2 days. Filter replaced 1x week. Seemed to improve, active alert, no gaping. Nosedive last Friday. Certain he's dying. What happened? He's about 5 mos. old 1 1/2 long, tiny. Partner robust. I've seen other animals rally before death. Do turtles do that? Do they gape due to stress? The only other thing I noticed 1st wk. in isolation put in for soak gaped a lot, expelled cloudy fluid rectum cloaca. Just baffled & saddened to see him so ill and dying. What'd I do wrong?


Answer
'Gaping' can mean many things, most often a respiratory infection (RI). RI is tough- even with full veterinary care, we loose a lot of turtles to it.

Try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for suggestions. They have good articles on diet, water quality, medical care, and even a good forum to chat on for more ideas.

However, I do recommend vet visits for turtles in this condition- there is often a medical treatment that can help.