Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I bought my baby RES (illegal) 7 years ago in chinatown. I have never had a problem with her. She had huge appetite and was always healthy.

I didn't plug the heater on in time this year. The water temp dropped and now she is not wanting to eat (she did eat but not in her ravenous begging way). For the first time ever! She is also less active and staying down low by the heater at the bottom of the tank, and not basking.

I turned the heater up to 80 degrees. Should I keep it even higher while she is sick?

Is there anything I can do for her myself or should I taker her to a vet immediately? If so what type of vet? Any recomendations in NYC?

Also I have had a 55 gallon breeder tank the past 4 years and have kept in the back of my mind I need a 90 gallon. I am serious about getting that 90 gallon tank. Are there any good places to buy online? They are $275 at the local petshop.

If the water got really cold i would be worried about pnuemonia (?spelling?) I would get him to a herp vet
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1.0 green iguana-Deitrich
1.1 Common Boa-Un-Named, Ursula
1.0 Ball Python-Anabell (go figure!)
1.0 Red Tegu-Uteg
1.0 Albino Cal King-Pig
0.1 Mexican Black King-Morticia
1.1 Bearded Dragons-Unnamed, Hanabil
1.0 Albino San Diego Gopher-Unnamed
0.1 Hermans tort-Esio
1.1 JCP-Milton, Medusa
1.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn-Unnamed
0.1 Snow Corn-Unnamed
1.0 Hypo Okeetee Corn-Unnamed
0.1 Motley Okeetee-Unnamed
1.0 Western Hoggie-Wyrm
0.0.1 Rose Hair Taruntla-Unnamed
2.0 Leopard Geckos-Reptar, Pogo
4.1 cats-Tucker,Poe,Abhib,Emerald, Felicity
0.1 Bullmastiff-Asha

Keep the water temp as high as you have it now. If your turtle is sick, the warmed water will help until you can get it to a vet. If you ask in the first aid section of this forum www.turtletimes.com/Forums/default.asp, they can give you a list of vets in the NYC area. I know they have a list somewhere but I can't find it right now, so just ask and they will tell you.
A 90 gal tank would be nice for your turtle, but just remember you should have 10 gals per inch of turtle. So if your turtle is over 9 inches you might want to consider a larger tank. Although a 90 gal tank would still work, it would be just a tad small. I got my 90 gal tank with oak stand for about $90 so there are some good deals out there. Look in the paper, at flea markets, second hand shops, and when it's warmer, yard sales.
I hope your turtle is ok.

Sounds like she id hybernating to me. It depends on how cold the tank was and how long it was down for. Turtles will hybernate when they are healthy and their water temp goes down. Just let her water go to a normal tempurture and give her some time to kick back in gear (leaving it warmer probably won't hurt either) you might want to look into hybernation more. I've never had it happen myself, but some people will let their turtles hybernate while they are on vaction to minimize that amount of care needed. You shouldn't let them hybernate more then a few months i think. Not to sure on this topic, but I would look into hybernation before I freaked out.

Thank you everyone for your feedback.

I am sure it's not pneumonia b/c she is not swimming to one side and breathing with mouth open.

I have been leaving the tank warm, and she has eaten a little. Day by day she becomes more alert and now has 75% of that smile and shiney eyes back, so familiar to me.

I am going to hold off on a vet, because she seems to be better each day. Maybe she did go into hibernation mode.

I will repost if anything comes up. Otherwise it's safe to say she'll be back in full action.

Thanks again,

Willy

I'm glad I could help.
~Ariel

I know it's not the right time of year, but check her for eggs, just in case. If it's a female, and she's that big, she can lay eggs now, even if she hasn't been exposed to a male. You can gently insert a finger in the body cavity between the front of the hind leg and the shell, and tilt her to that side. If there are eggs, you'll probably be able to feel at least one of them, it will feel like there's a small soft golf ball in there. Try it on both sides.

As for tanks, also check E-bay from time to time, and the newspaper classifieds.

Katrina