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No vet clinics are open! My turtle is sick!!!

22 16:46:41

Question
Apparently vets don't think that animals get sick on weekends! My turtle is really sick. His eyes look really large. They usually are narrow slits, and they are enlarged and almost look swollen. His breathing is weird. I can hear him wheezing. He also is very skittish. I usually can pick him up with no problems. Today, he is acting very squirmish and not wanting to be touched. I normally don't pick him up, but I need to clean his tank. His filters stopped working, so I need to clean the water. I fear that the water he was living in might be a cause of it. If anyone has any ideas on what might be wrong or how I can help him, please let me know! I am extremely upset!

Answer
Easy to diagnose: eye infection and a Respiratory Infection (RI)

The cause is probably a combination of stressful factors that reduced the turtle's immune system and left it vulnerable to infections.

Specifically, the most common causes include:
- cold water, below the preferred 75-80F range
- dirty water
- small tank, smaller than the recommended 10 gallons per inch of turtle shell length
- poor lighting, either cold basking sites (under about 90F), dim overall lighting, and/or a lack of UVB lighting.
- poor diet, too much of the wrong kind of food or too few vitamin-laden foods, etc.

There is no fast home remedy, and it may require a vet vist anyway.

The general treatment is pretty non-specific, what we call 'hospital tanking'.
1. Make sure the tank is the right size and has the right lighting, heating, and filtration in it.
2. Clean the tank well, disinfect everything possible- run it through the dishwasher, soak it in diluted bleach, boil it, bake it... whatever it takes.
3. Get the filter running well and make sure the biological filtration stage is healthy.
4. Warm the tank about 5 degrees warmer than usual- aim for about 80-85F.
5. Make sure to offer only good foods, and remove uneaten food after about 15 minutes to an hour.
6. Minimize stress- loud noises, vibrations, lights, and hovering over the tank. Try to not handle the turtle unless needed.

You can try a sulfa block in the water- I don't think it helps a lot, but it might.

It will take several days to see an improvement- possibly over a week. Monitor the turtle without stressing it. if it is getting better, great. If not, see a vet.

A great site for additional info is http://www.austinsturtlepage.com