Worms?RES

Question
QUESTION: My turtle hasnt been eating lately ever since i started his sulfa dip treatment for his fungi but not only that he has had worm like things in his poop and round pink bubbles that stick to the filter it is a really weird bowel movement with llike worms out of each inch if turtles can get worms they are like strings and he hasnt ate in about a week or more and it frightens me we keep him on a steady diet of wardley turtle pellets ,wardley shrimp(not often),and feeder fish (more so than the shrimp) he ate 4 fish and 2 crickets the last time he ate could he possibly still be full from that? does my turtle have worms?he is a RES

ANSWER: Worms are pretty common in turtles, but not usually a problem in captive-bred RES.

Diet: I would switch from the pretty low-end Wardleys to ReptoMin or the better Mazuri, T-Rex, etc. diets. I would also ct back on fish and go more to good worms, shrimp, krill, etc. (Fish can actually be a source of worms in RES).

The bubbles on the filter baffle me.

Going off their feed a little while being treated is pretty common. You can stop the dip for a while and let it get back on its feet.

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QUESTION: Can Worms Be Fatal If So Witch Course of action would i take if any?
should i just let them pass his system ?
will they?
i got him a turtle bone recently and he seems to be afraid of it .that was random but are turtle bones good for them the above question is much more important in priority for answering .
ANSWER: Worms are rarely fatal, and even are not generally a problem unless the turtle is stressed, ill, misfed, etc.

'Turtle bones'- if you mean a cuttlebone, some turtles just never really eat them. Try breaking some of it up into about quarter sized pieces.

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QUESTION: He Is also Sheding HORRIBLY Strings hanging off his mouth and skin hanging off his leg, he is off the sulfa dip but he is sheddign horribly still and his appetite is still not back.how long might that take?
ANSWER: It is time to step back and regroup. I found your earlier questions, and am trying to put everything together.

1. It was suggested that the dip only be used for about a week back on 5-26 to deal with a possible fungal-related shedding issue. Apparently, the shedding has either not gone away or gotten worse, so we will discontinue the dip.

2. It was suggested that you use sites like http://www.redearslider.com for general advice and to help ensure that the basic cares were solid. Excess shedding is often related to care issues, like high water temps, high protein diets, or too much vitamin A. I don't know much about your basic cares (turtle size, tank size, water temps, filtration, etc.) so I do not know if that is part of the problem or not.

3. Your main symptoms right now are:
- small white worms
- excess shedding
- no appetite




The appetite is a key, so lets focus on that. Using the guidelines at http://www.redearslider.com or http://www.austinsturtlepage.com, make sure the habitat is right- right size, right filters, right temps, etc. Do not go by old information or what the pet shop told you- get good, solid care info and set your tank up that way.

Do not worry much about ingfeed your turtle during the 'reset' or for a couple days after. Let everything settle in, then offer it a good diet as described in the two sites.

If it starts to eat, great- we can let it eat for a week and then re-evaluate. If it does not eat, and the cares are indeed rock solid, it is time to try something else.

What that something else might be, I am not sure at the moment. As mentioned, I am not a vet and I am working in the dark on this end, but I will do some research on it and see what we can do.

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QUESTION: it's been at least 2 weeks since he ate last...that can't be good.

Answer
That ain't good- but is is also not terrible. First, get the basic cares right- what is the tank size, temps, basking temps, filtration system, hiding places, etc. like?

This is an awkward place to have an on-going conversation. You can try posting at http://www.turtleforum.com, where it is easier to do 'back an forth', Q&A type talks, and other experts can chime in as well.