baby red eared slide turtle

Question
i ordered 2 baby turtles online about a month ago n one has died. the other has matted eyes n breaths out of it's mouth. i have raised the temperature of the water n got a better basking light.  he has no appetite. is there any hope for him.sounds like respiratory to me but everyone keeps telling me that if i raise water temp. it will get better. please help! thanx, tania

Answer
Matted eyes makes things harder. If he cannot see, he will not eat well.

Boosting the temps and using good lighting helps, but the real problem are the viruses and bacteria infecting the turtle. Warmer water does not kill the germs, just makes it easier for the turtle to fight them.

Sadly, even with good veterinary care, respiratory infections kill a lot of our turtles when they get to this stage.

If you want to avoid a big vet bill, about the only other thing you can try is the Turtle Sulfa Dip product you can find at the store, or the fish medicine called Stress Coat with Ale Vera (but not both). They can help, but I am not going to promise anything for you.

You can pop over to http://www.austinsturtlepage.com and see if they have any other ideas to try.