Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,
I think my 6yr old 9" yellow belly is sick (respitory?)... she's floating at quite an angle to one side. It started about 4 - 6 weeks ago & has slowly gotten worse. Her appetite is good & she eagerly eats every second day. When I place her on the basking platform she's content to bask & will usually stay on the platform (24 hrs or more) until I place her in the water for feeding. If I leave her in the water she usually will just float around for days she rarely crawls out on her own. There's no discharge around her nose. The basking area is about 90 degrees & the water is 80 degrees. She shares the 96 gallon tank with a 6yr old RES who is floating fine & seems normal & 2, 8" gold fish.

Are there any home remedies I can try before taking her to the vet? Should I leave her out of the water all the time? Would it be helpful to get a night basking light to keep the heat at night?

Thanks, I appreciate you help.
Sue

when my res had those symptoms, i quickly got a heater, and made sure the water always was 85*, then slowly i brought it down to 82* once i saw he was getting better, the water in your tank probably gets cold at night time and thats what caused ur turtle to have these problems...so i would get a heater and bust up the temp and leave the temp at 82-85*

I'd recommend going to the vet. The turtles sounds like it has pneumonia in one lung, which is why you see one side higher than the other. An x-ray can confirm this. I had one slider with deep pockets of infection in one lung (discovered after a necropsy), but appeared healthy with strong feeding instincts despite the fact he was floating almost virtically in the water.

Katrina

Thanks Katrina,
What treatment did your vet prodide? If antibotics, was it a shot or oral drops? Also, what home care was necessary & how long did it take to get the turtle swimming flat in the water again?

I have raised my water temp up to 84 at the suggestion from another post but unsure if there anything else I can do... I guess I'm off to a vet next week. Not sure if there's a reptile one that handles Turtles - it's illegal for stores to sell turtles here so there aren't many around.

Sue

Sue,

Where do you live? One of us might be able to recommend a vet. You can check www.anapsid.org as well to see if there's one near you. Prince George's County in MD doesn't allow turtle sales, but there are some good reptile vets there.

Most turtles respond within a week or two. I was given injectable Baytril, and there's some controversy over it, but you can also give Baytril orally. I inject it into superworms if the turtle is eating. There are other drugs that might be used, just ask your vet for the pros and cons of each.

Katrina