Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 2 year old female RES - 3.5" carapace.

She is in a 60 gal. tank with two filters: a fluval and a powerhead. The powerhead, as you may know, is wrapped with a synthetic fibre which my turtle once found to be particularly edible.

She has not eaten in 12 days and looks quite emanciated compared to the way she looks when eating normally.

She has deficated out two clumps of filter-fibre leaving me with the obvious conclusion that she has consumed this filter fibre and is suffering from severe constipation.

Is there a turtle-laxitive or SOMETHING that I can do to alleviate this stress? I would love for her to resume eating!

Cheers,
John

She sounds like she`s impacted and needs a vet`s attention. If you don`t have one, try http://www.arav.org/USMembers.htm

Good luck.

I agree. She needs veterinary help ASAP. If she is not eating you cannot hope to have her consume anything that would lubricate her system and loosen up the impaction (she would need to be tubed (which is NOT something you can do if you never have before). Plus you need to confirm it is impacted and that no other damage has been done to the digestive tract from consuming this material. (an x-ray of the animal would most likely confirm the nature and extent of the problem)
There is no advice anyone here can give except to get help from a qualified Veterinarian. Good luck.