Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Okay, well from posts before I have told you how i purchased this 50 gallon aqaurium and i adopted 2 baby red-eared sliders a little over the size of a quarter. Well I posted in some other forums how my babies weren't eating anything and i mean AnYtHiNg! And that lead one of them(Wesley) to die! I found him floating in the water yesterday. I had a little funeral for him with some flowers and I am pretty sure the reason why he passed away is because he didn't eat. I let them settly in for a few days and then tried feeding them the pellets that the store they came from shipped me along with crickets, worms, veggies, fruits..everything! The other one is still alive but BArELY! It can barely open its poor eyes and there is a clear seal around its eyes and it won't swim it just sits on the rocks barely moving i put some pellets in a grape and let it float but Tes, res, wouldn't eat it. It attempted to take a bite out of water but that didn't work out too well. I bought a little dropper that I am going to try and force feed him with it. I also have two vet numbers that I will be calling in just a minute but if you have any suggestions please help! Thanks.

It might be too late to help the remaining turtle, but you can help other turtles by going to www.bbb.org and making a complaint against the store that sold you the hatchlings. If it wasn't a rescue organization, and money exchanged hands, it was a sale, not an adoption, and if the store made you think otherwise, then you really should file a complaint.

Katrina

Sorry about your other baby. If this one has a "clear seal" around his eyes, I'd say he probably has some sort of eye infection or upper respiratory infection. That could lead him to stop eating. Also, what are your temps like? Do you have correct lighting? Filtration? Get him to a good reptile vet as soon as possible. Hopefully with some antibiotics and some vitamins he'll recover. good luck!

Okay well the water temp is 79-80 degrees and i have a fluval 2 plus filter and I also have a Uva/Uvb light(mercury light bulb) in the tank(50 gallon). I do have good news, though. I called a vet and told her my situation and she told me the exam alone would cost $54, which isn't too bad, but the turtle itself cost less than that. So I decided I'll try to do something before I have to take it to a vet. So I put collard greens, kale, apple, tomato, banana, mealworms, crickets, zoo-med pellets, and a supplement powder in the the blender with some water a blended it and I ran to walgreens to get a dropper(I couldn't find the other one I had). I put some of the blended mix into the dropper and picked up Tes, my res, and turned him up vertically and he opened his mouth and ate some of the blended mix. I continued with that every little while and he really seemed to like it! After that he started to really become active. He not only started swimming but he would climb around on the rocks as well. Also, the clear seal is gone and his eyes are opened! I think the only thing wrong with the poor guy was he was hungry! I wish I would have known earlier that way I could have saved his little brother, Wesley. I am going to continue with this blend for a few more days. I guess the vet visit wasn't necessary after all. Thanks.

Im glad to hear he seems to be doing a bit better. Continue will the blended food and continue to also offer whole food as well to see if his appetite picks up. Hopefully it will.

Baby RES are extremely delicate and can be very hard to raise so watch him like a hawk for any signs of illness getting worse. The idea that the vet visit costs more than the turtles is not a good one to take. That is the way it is with all animals...animals are not expensive to purchase, but they can be expensive to maintain and keep healthy, and thats just how it is. Far too many people take on the attitude that a 10$ turtle, or hamster, or bird, or whatever...isn't worth the money and they suffer and die needlessly, this should not be the case. If your turtle seems to take a turn for the worse please immediately bring him to a vet, despite the cost. Dont forget, even healthy animals still cost vet money...even reptiles need to have yearly vet exams and fecals run...even turtles.

Good luck with your little guy, hopefully he pulls through!!
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