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I think my RES is sick :(

22 16:39:57

Question
I have a small red eared slider (shell length is about 3 in.) that I have had for ten months now. His tank is a little small for him, but I am looking for a new one. I have a UV lamp set up for him with a basking sight and he has a larger area with water deep enough for him to swim. Last week, we lost our power for almost three days during a storm, and he did not have any light to bask in. Once our power was restored we immediately restored his light and kept on with our regular schedule. Within the first two or three days, I noticed that he was not eating as much as usual. Usually we put him in his tank and he swims around like a madman devouring everything in his path. We feed him a mixture of turtle pellets, mini-krill, baby shrimp, fresh spinach, carrots and apples (though he ussually doesn't eat the fresh food as much). He hasn't been as active and when we put him in his feeding tank he just floats around and barely takes any interest in the food at all (we haven't changed his diet since we got him). Furthermore, for the past three days he had done little else besides lie under the lamp on his rock and he continually is stretching his mouth wide open and letting out little squeaking noises. We have noticed him doing this once or twice when we first got him, but not since then, and now it is almost constant. Are these symptoms typical of any sort of condition, or do you think it maybe has something to do with the fact that we were living without heat or light for three days? Would you reccommend bringing him to a vet?

Answer
Sounds like a Respiratory Infection (RI), quite common when they get a chill. This is the reptile version of a cold or flu.

The basic care is to let it rest- minimal stress, clean water, good diet, and slightly elevated temps- instead of 75-80F, go up about another 5 degrees. After that, go by behavior- if it hangs in the cold area, drop the temps a bit and vice versa.

Try some of the ideas at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for some more help.