Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just received a second eastern and it seems to be very bloated. I will take a pic when I get but it almost looks like it is full if air. It is especially noticeable in the skin above the rear legs. Please let me know if there is anything I should be doing for him. Thanks for any help.
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John Vandegrift

Soak him in warm, not hot, water for 20 minutes - to an hour. THe longer the better. I got a rescue about a year ago that was also bloated. You should take it to a vet. It could be a sign of kidney failure, impaction, or other organ trouble. Soak often in warm water until you can get it to the vet. Make sure the temps in its setup are keeping him warm enough. Try and post a picture. If you need help finding a herp vet let us know, we can probably help you locate one fairly near you.

Here is a pic

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John Vandegrift

This looks very much like the one that I had. It looks like she is retaining fluids. Find out, if you can how the turtle was kept. Was it eating regularly and what was it eating before you received it? You'll need this information to give to the vet.

In my case the turtle was impacted because it was kept on woodchips, which it had ingested. It was kept with very little water and fed only tomato and lettuce under a heat lamp. SHe had quit eating 3 weeks before she was given to me.

By soaking her for an hour after giving her a drop of mineral oil she passed so much foul crap smelling you wouldn't believe it.

Hope this helps. Keep us posted.

Thanks for help
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John Vandegrift

Mineral oil can suck water out of a living system like a sponge. This can worsen impaction before solving it. Metamucil is a less dehydrating choice that has a fiber-blast affect.

Baggage over the legs doesn't always mean impaction. Hatchlings that accept pellets get that pudgey look.

Mineral oil can be used as an intestinal lubricant. It does not absorb water, it resist water. The only way that it can even mix with water is through an emulsifier...e.g. bile acids. Even then, it doesn't soak up water like a sponge. This reaction is only to accomplish absorption. If it is not absorbed, it goes right on through, which is the point. The only way that it can cause dehydration is through excessive diarrhea. This is associated with an overdose, which is entirely possible with such a small turtle. Administer mineral oil with caution, and only under the watchful eye of a Veterinarian! As a Vet. tech, I saw mineral oil used successfully in both mammalian and reptilian patients many times.

Metamucil is merely a bulk-former that holds a lot of water, thereby making the stool more soft. It can also cause dehydration if it is not administered with the proper quantities of water, or if the patient is already dehydrated. Its composition inhibits the re-uptake of water (a necessary component of hydration) while it moves through the small intestine. Bulk formers are beneficial for prevention of an impaction, or treatment of minor constipation.

A bulk former could be extremely deleterious if used in a patient with a bona fide impaction. Mineral oil is a far better choice for impaction.

As always, take recommendations on medical issues from this forum lightly. Always consult a Veterinarian. More work needs to be done before this is even diagnosed as an impaction.

Good luck with your little turtle! I'm sorry that you're starting out on a bad footing with the little guy/gal.

I have had the occasional hatchling here have that appearance for short periods of time. I have no idea what causes it, and since all of the hatchlings I have are kept in identical setups, grouped by clutch, I can't say why it would happen to one and not another.
The situation has always resolved itself, though.
The only thing I would suggest is allowing it to soak in shallow, tepid water for about 1/2 hr. at a time on a daily basis to allow it to drink and eliminate waste.

Whups, you're right - not a sponge - sorry for any confusion from such an outlandish analogy. I'll try to cloud the point rather than the definitions next time

I should have said, I've found Metamucil to be better at quickly blasting impactions from box turtles on a couple of occasions. I should have also said that a "premiere" vet school has found the same.

Be careful about vet trip recommendation. Hatchlings are really easy to goof up. It seems a good idea to make sure a hatchling will die if it doesn't see a vet before it goes through the stress of seeing a vet (haha how do you do that?). Have a good one.

I understand.

I searched during part of last night and this morning, before I posted that reply, for information regarding the use of Metamucil for treatment of impactions in herps. I couldn't find a thing. Sometimes you can get unexpected results from treatments even though you think you've pinned down the mechanisms behind them. For instance, Metamucil causing blow-outs of impacted material. If this information is still in its Vet. school stage, it's no wonder that it isn't widely known. Nice catch.

I occasionally get calls from a former Veterinarian co-worker about herp treatments...scary thought, isn't it? Case in point of why you should research your Vet. before commiting your animals' care to them. Would you consider giving me a hint as to where I can find this information? Is it in the Mader book? If it reveals personal info. about you, or requires contacting me privately don't worry about it. I'll tell her to watch for this in V.I.N.

For her purposes...the majority of herp impactions she sees are...anyone, anyone...that's right, Iguanas. Go figa.

Thanks for all the advice. I am waiting on the dealer to get back to me on what he was feeding on and what substrate he was on. He did eats a bit of a dusted earthworm this morning. If he was truly impacted would he continue to feed? He seems to be in pretty good shape aside from the swelling. He is pretty active and dug down into the bedding pretty easily last night. He even has a pretty good sized growth ring. Should I maybe keep him on a damp paper towel for a few adys to monitor if he is defecating or should I just continue to keep him on the bed-a-beast?
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John Vandegrift

I got the suggestion for Metamucil over mineral oil from the exotic medicine guys at LSU vet school. I had used mineral oil before and didn't like the results. Funny thing about Metamucil is, the couple of (adult) box turtles I've given it to find it really tastey by itself.

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John,

I would like to say the hatchling's puffy legs looks a lot like my turtle's legs soon after it hatched. I too thought something was wrong, but since the turtle recently hatched and had not eaten anything, I assumed it was either meant to die, or meant to live and took no action to "cure" it. It had a sibling that had the same condition but not as bad. Both survived and I came to the conclusion that the yolk sac, which was large in each case, made the soft flesh above the legs poke out and it was not something abnormal. I don't know if this is what is happening to your turtle but thought I mentioned it since it looks so much like what my turtles had.

I know you can't rule out a problem. Give it ideal accomodation and hydration and a visit to a vet might help. I hope all goes well.
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Tess
Kingsnake.com Forum Host

Thanks, I think this turtle is at least a few months old but I'm not sure. He is eating pretty well so I am just going to see how it goes over the next couple of weeks unless he seems to get worse.
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John Vandegrift

I have raised and/or cared for many a baby boxie. I have seen this condition in babies and adults, which at first caused concern, but years later, they are still thriving. Given that the environment is ok, the main thing to be concerned with is when they DON'T eat. That is a clear signal that something is wrong. A healthy baby may be shy, but they are always ready to tackle a little earthworm. It sounds to me like your baby is ok and eating so keep up the good work. And remember, don't watch them for too long, or they will drive you crazy....