Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I took him (It's a boy!) to an animal hospital with a reptile vet and he said that he wasn't sick, that he looked just fine and healthy. He said that his eyes are not swollen, just shut. He does open them sometimes, just not often. The spot on his front right foot is most likely a turtle bite from another turtle. He was originally with another turtle that had died before my husband found him. But, he still won't eat. The vet said to try earthworms, he said that he was so young that he probably expected his food to be moving. I tried this and he still hasn't eaten. I've now tried; tuna, pellets, flakes, earthworms and frozen turtle food. It's now been almost two weeks since we've had him and no food. I'm really worried. Can anyone give me some advice on how to get him to eat. He does have a basking stone and lamp, a heating pad under his container and a water thermometer. I still don't know how hot the heat lamp is but the vet said that as long as he had a light it was fine. Thanks.

It really makes it difficult when they are so small. If the baby won't or can't open his eyes he will not eat. I don't say this
too often but he may be suffering from a Vit A deficiency.
I feel this is pretty overrated by some vets but may play a
part into what is going on. Ask you vet if he can give you
some Vit A drops for his eyes. First and foremost you have
got to get his eyes to stay open. The only time my turtles
close their eyes is when they are asleep or basking. I still
feel like there may be a respiratory condition as well. Is
he basking? How often and does he swim normally? Check your
temperature on the basking area and get it to about 90 degrees.
Just make sure you don't have the water too warm so he can
thermoregulate if needed. Keep the water at about 76 degrees.
Keep trying other stuff to see if he will eat. Canned dog food,
frozen, thawed shrimp cut up very small. My turtles love
this stuff. Also try some dry, soaked cat food. Soak it until
it is very soft and easily comes apart and then after getting
his eyes open drop a few in the water by him. My baby loves
this stuff. I wish you luck with him.

I wish I could help more as I know it is very frustrating.
I don't recall from the other post, are you in Illinois?
Linda

The vet said that he didn't look like he had a Vit A deficiancy or any other problem. Donetello (I think that's what I'll call him) does bask and swim. I don't know what the temp is under the lamp, though. I'll try more food items, like you suggested. Do you or can you hand feed them? I'm in Texas. Thank you very much.

Make sure you check the basking area temp. Do not guess
at this. I do hand feed mine (carefully though because
my sliders are big enough to take my finger off)
If your turtles eyes are not open the majority of the time
there IS a problem no matter what the vet says. Make sure
this vet has had experience with turtles. Can you post a
picture of his face? If he can't see he will not eat. You
can try handfeeding but I don't think it will work.

Linda

Sure. I'm trying to get a clear one, just a minute.

Okay, here's a pretty clear one. My camera is kinda old, I'll try me cell too if this isn't good enough.

The fact that this baby let you get this close and never
lifted his head is not a good sign. What I would like to
see is a good picture of his eyes. Try lifing his head up
and shoot it straight on.

Linda

He does lift his head when I get close. Are they suppose to do that? That pic was like the third one I took so he had already put his head down by that one.

I have raised two hatchlings and am working on my third.
They NEVER would bask in my presence. It is not normal
as in the wild they would become easy prey. Ask anyone
else on this forum and you will find out that for any
hatchling that barely moves in the presence of anyone or
anything is not normal. When I walk in the room my hatchlings
would fly off the basking area and hide. This is very normal
behavior.

See if you can get that shot of his eyes
Linda

Here's another pic. Maybe you can see better from this one.

What I was trying to see is what exactly the eyes look like,
puffiness, etc. I think that the baby is too small to get
a good up close picture of his eyes without a really expensive
camera. Sorry!

Just keep doing what we discussed and raise the basking area
temp as mentioned. Turtles can battle illness better if they
can heat up to optimum or a little higher temp.

Happy Thanksgiving

Yea, I couldn't get too close because it wouldn't focus. But the vet did say that his eyes were not swollen or puffy, just shut. He also said to keep him as warm as possible to stimulate Donatello's natural healing processes. Thank you for all you help.

A bit late...sorry! but I was babysitting 2 baby turtles when they were on vacation and they looked EXACTLY LIKE THAT. unfortunatly, they both died because I couldn't contact the owners on whether or not to take them to the vet. but i found that it MIGHT help if you scrape a little of vitamin A, or C, off of a vitamin tablet (for humans) and dissolve it into some water and pour it into the turtle's water. only a tiny bit of it will be fine. it might help. like i said, both of mine had pneumonea and a lot of other problems so they couldn't handle it. good luck! keep him warm!

Thank you, I'll try that. Also, how do I feed him? Linda, you said that you had some hatchlings that you are currently raising, how do you get them to eat? And how did you, Sunset, feed yours? Thank you.

refused to eat. When I got my 1st painted turtle he was
older and would not eat. Canned dog food did the trick after
a couple of tries.

I would contact a different vet who has experience with
turtles. I am 100% sure yours is ill.

I hope he turns around soon
Linda

I do have one now that I am raising. My other babies are
now 7 years old, 8-9" shell length and weigh in at about 3 lbs.
It is amazing to watch them grow from a scared tiny hatchling
to a huge turtle.

it could be temps. if it isn't warm enough they wouln't eat. make sure the water temp is 75-82 and there is a basking temp. of 93-100F.

Just wondering if there has been any progress?

Linda

Yes, there has been. He is now eating!! YAY! I was so worried. He now keeps his eyes open as well. I think that maybe he was just too young. The vet and a gentlemen from the Turtle Survival Alliance both said that the heating pad wasn't necessary, that he'd get enough heat from the light and the water would warm up enough from it. Since I've removed the heating pad under his container, he now swims allot more and is more active. He's usually in the water during the day and when it turns night then he crawls up on his basking stone and is usually there for the rest of the night, even after I turn off the light when we go to bed. His eyes are open all day now, except for when he's basking, and he does move away when he sees me come up. The Turtle Alliance said to get some aquatic plants, so I did, and he likes to lay under them allot. For food, he likes Aquatic Turtle Yummies, it has the vitamins that he needs. He also will eat turtle flakes but likes the yummies best. I want to thank everyone so very much for all the help you've given me. I think the little hero in a half shell, Donatello, will be just fine now. I also have purchased The Guide to Owning a Red-eared Slider book. It's been very informative. Thanks again, Chris.

That's great news! I was really worried about him. Now that
you have him eating and a proper setup he should be fine.
Just don't forget the UVB light that goes along with the
heat lamp.

Great job!
Linda

I hope I'm not too late, I don't come to this part of the forum often! How is your baby doing? Is he eating yet? If you can get him to open his mouth, you can try squirting in a bit of baby food with an eye dropper. You can water down the baby food a bit to make it easier. Try "teasing" him a bit by gently poking at him with the eye dropper, then when he opens his mouth squirt a drop of baby food in.
-----
0.1.0 ornate box turtle
1.0.0 eastern box turtle
1.0.0 Yellow belly slider
0.1.0 Red belly cooter
0.1.0 Australian shepard
1.12.0 chickens
3.2.0 children (do I still count the married ones?)
1.0.0 husband