Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Help! I have a European Pond turtle that I got as a gift a couple months ago. Until two days ago he has been really active and has had an amazing appetite. Now he won't move much at all and has not even looked at the fish swimming in his tank. Is he sick? or is he going to hibernate? What happens when a turtle hibernates?

Any advice would be great!

If the water temp. is low like around 50 or 60, turtles may go into hibernation. I think it probably has something to do with the temperture, raise it up a bit. It should start to be more active unless it's sick.
Michael Fedzen

Thank, I think I will buy another heat lamp today. Does this also explain why he won't eat?

While you are out buying a heat lamo get a digital thermometer with aprobe. this is really an extremely important turtle care ite, that is often over looked. you can get a decent one at anny electronics store for about 18 - 25 dollars. Too m,nay times we guess as to the temperatures.

I have several euro ponds and they are usually very cold tolerant, they are known to be among the most cold tolerant species. In general its the heat they retreat from. BUT many recent imports seem to have come from a fairly warm Black Sea locality and so this may not be the case with every euro pond out there (they do spana wide range and more southerly forms do not hibernate as truly as those from, say, Germany)

Anyway yes lowered temsp would reduce appetite.
How long have you had the animal?
What have you been feeding it?
Is it inside or outside?
How much water, land does it have?
Is it a female? Is it large enough to be gravid?

Thanks so much for advice. I got the turtle as a gift from my roommates in September, and did not get any information with him. From what I can tell he is maybe 5 years old? I usually feed him about 5 small goldfish and occasionally live crickets. I really do not know for sure if the turtle is a boy or a girl, but I just assume it is a boy since he has a really long tail. I will definately take your advice on the thermometer and heat lamp, I usually do just guess the temp. What should it be typically at? He is in a 25 gallon tank with 75% water and a basking area. I really do appreciate your help, since none of the pet stores have any information on Euro pond turtles, everything i have figured out is from the internet. For now, I put an extra light on him with a regular bulb and he already seems a little more awake.
-Ann Marie

How big is the turtle? (approximate length from front of top shell to the back (not including head and tail))?

Euro get pretty big,
i guess (s)he will need a much bigger tank than a 25 gallon soon if not already.

I's ditch the goldfish ASAP. there are lots of potential problems with feeder goldfish: parasites, traces of toxic copper compounds from the farms the are raised in, high fat and bad kinds of it.
I use pellets (on the ones that will eat them)nightcrawlers, red wigglers, crickets superworms, smelt, tuna, egg white (boiled) and strawberries.

I try to sneak in pellets into the fish parts for the ones that don't eat them and i add caclium and vitimin powder (small amounts) to some frozen pureed squash or squash or sweet potato baby foods and roll the superworms in them first. (if you use baby food, do so once in a while,not everu wrom feeding and try to get a low sugar one)

I have one that nibbles anacharis but the rest don't touch the water plants.
I have had some success with getting them to eat the lower protein algae wafers and spirulina sticks.

I'll tell you more later.

ok new problem with my euro, it seems as if his entire body is swollen so much so that he isn't really fitting into his shell...part of the skin on his neck is kind of pinkish? maybe he got hurt? he looked a little swollen before, but not nearly as bad as now. definately worried. do they have vets for turtles?

on a side note, i checked with a friend and may be able to get a bigger tank (fitting it in my dorm room could be a challenge). He is about 6 inches long now. He will not eat pellets or tuna since those are the first things i tried, however, i am sure that I can get nightcrawlers and such. How about minnows from a bait shop? He still hasn't eaten...

alright, I took my turtle (Knute) to the vet today, he agreed that he must have a vitamin D deficiency, so he gave him a shot of vitamin A&D, and I have to take him back on Weds for another....the aquarium is a nice 78-80 degrees and he has a nice new UV light, but the swelling is not going down, nor will he eat. I have since your last message, tried mealworms, nightcrawlers, strawberries, pellets (again) and minnows-NOTHING. the vet didn't really explain to me why he wouldn't eat. any suggestions? also, have you ever heard of giving euro's low-fat canned dog food? this seemed kind of strange...thought I'd ask before I tried...still worried...thanks, ANN MARIE

THandsome fella.

he dog fod or cat food thing is okay if you only use in once in a great while. But in a case sucj as this, better to get him eating anything.

the swelling may have to do with a bacterial infection or it may be realted to a kidney problem. Sometiem sit also occurs if they become dehydrated. have you been keeping the water really clean?

A vit A and D shot huh? Well okay. That may prove to cause more problems than it solved but if the dose was very low it is probbaly okay (there is a long ugly history of turtles being poisoned by vitmin A shots, many vets now use much lower doses but oral admisitration is still generally preffered)

How long exactly since he has not eaten?

The worms usually go over really well, but then so does any kind of fish.
wa your vet a reptile specilaist? (i know this sounds ridiculous but maybe you need a second opinion).

Did you say how long you;vehad him and if he was eating well before?

And if he's 6 inches he needs a way bigger tank.

Keep trying foods, new and old (even if he rejected them before)Did you try boiled egg whites? Live minnows?
Keep us posted.

Okay i have re read all tht you have written. Vit d deficiency is sometiems a problem for young turtles but yours is sexually mature and a few months without sunlight doesn't usually cause major problems. But the shot probably won't hurt.
i would discuss the possibility of hpervitiminosis with your vet carefully before you let him give another vit A injection.

read this:
vit A

The vet may well know all about this and the dose give may be very low but it in the past there has been some problem with overdosing turtles with vit A when they were thought to have a vit A deficiency. Maybe print out the article and ask the vet about it?

Try to get a calcium supplement that contains vit D3 (usually a powder) to sprinkle on his food and shove into the mouths of his fish.

Ask the vet if he thinks the turtle has any likely infection and what specifically he thinks the swelling is caused by and how it can be addressed.
Is an antibiotic a good idea?

Get the bigger tank as soon as you can and flirt with, pay, bribe, beg friends, big guys RA's or whomever you need to to get the thing in the dorm without trouble. People get all sorts of ridiculous things in their dorms if they are just careful and smart about it. : )

Above all
good luck. Its hard to diagnose turtles and soem don't respond well.
You should knwo that i genral Emys orbicularis has proven to be pretty demanding reagrding water quality and seesm to do poorly unless very very clean water conditions are provided.

BTW:

your "handsome fella" seems to have yellow eyes in the pic...is that the case is relaity or just a result of the photography?
Yellow eyes often (not always) indicate femininity in Emys orbicularis.

All the Emys turtles have long tails in both sexes but the males tails are thicker and there is soem concavity to the plastron.

Oh and by all means, clean the keyboard and books na stuff with lysol...you don't want to end up with a "long bathroom day"

whoops clicked "post" too quickly.

Male is on top (brown plastron...but color means little with sexing except with the eyes in this species)female botto (yellow plastron)
Note thicker tail and, more importantly, that the cloaca is further down and outside the rim of the carapace.

Hi,
Thanks for all the advice, I printed what you wrote and the article and took them to the vet with me this morning. The vet agreed that another shot of A was not a good idea, instead he gave me a week's worth of injectable antibiotics (Baytril?) which will hopefully get rid of the "puffiness". He also said not to worry bout the kindneys because Knute's whole body would be swollen, not just the front part as it is. He still isn't eating but i am sure it is because he is uncomfortable, the vet assured me that he is heavy enough now and will be ok without food until the infection is gone, i hope is right. I am going to keep trying to feed him.

I have located a bigger tank and am going to get it over christmas break, problably will have to leave knute at home though for my dad/brother to care for since i will be moving to Wash DC for the semester and my landlord is strict on pets-I'm gonna miss him!

I keep the water really clean, and I have a pretty good filter, but I will most certainly maintain it since I know that he needs clean water.

Oh, I have had him since september and he usually eats like 5 live fish a day (something everyone loves to watch) so this not eating is unusual.

And, after looking at your picture, I am even more confused. The vet thinks Knute is a boy, but I think that the tail is rather narrow and of course the yellow eyes, however he has a slightly concave plastron? I think in my mind he is always going to be a "fellow" though.

Anyway, I will keep you informed on how the antibiotics work, I really hope that he responds, since worrying about the turtle has definately distracted from studying for finals..... Happy Holidays

Ann Marie

PS Yes, I use lysol like crazy

Glad to hear things went wel with the vet.

Hope he makes a full recovery.

Keep tryin new and old foods.

There are euro pond turtles with the "wrong" eye color so he may be a boy with yellow eyes.

Glad to hear about the lysol....just rinse your hands like crazy BEFORE touching him or his water if you have lysol or soap (or anything else) on them. : )

Keep me posted.