clipper Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 I have had a couple of sliders for 3 years now with no problems, but recently one of them has started to react strangly after being fed. He eats the same sort of volume as always, but after eating he is trying to bite himself in the neck (this does look strange) and is using unusual actions with his front legs in an action that looks like he is trying to clear something from his throat. I am at a loss to understand what is going on here and need some help if possible. He also is basking under an artificial UV light almost all of the time and does not really show much in the way of activity. When he is fed he seems to be active enough, but something is not right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 hmmmm... kind of confused here, now what size are they, size tank they live in and is the tank heated?. when u say he tries to bite his own neck, does he turn his head or pulls it back? also when he uses his front leg is he rubbing the neck or the side of this mouth? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clipper Posted April 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 Thanks for your questions The troubled one is 115mm and the other one is 175mm. the tank is heated to about 26 and there is a UV light on during the day. the tank is 900 X 450. He tries to bite his neck by turning his head and the action with the legs is in a motion towards the neck rather than the head. His mouth is normal without cuts, rash or leasions, inside or out and there is no viasable markings on the outer of the neck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboi Posted April 15, 2007 Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 gosh sorry clipper but i cant help u out, ur set up seems great and the behavior is complete opposite of what i was going to have solutions for. helpfully someone here can help u but may pay to seek professional help. good luck with ur little one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clipper Posted April 15, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 15, 2007 cheers, off to the vet tomorrow I think, just got to find one in Wellington that has some experience with Turtles..... If anyone knows about a vet in the Porirua area I would be grateful if I could have a name and number (it will save me a bunch of phone calls in the morning). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 Hey clipper, sorry i can't help, but for what it's worth, i'm in auckland and we recently had a cold snap - my turtle went nuts!!! went back and forth between not eating & tucking up in his shell on the floor underwater, and freaking out, careering around missing his turns so he was smacking into the glass. Was pretty scary, but my point is that they're clever and sensitive, so if you've had a weather change, or something new in the environment etc that we normally wouldn't think of, it could still be bothering your turt. However, sounds like an irritation of the throat. Best of luck with getting him looked at by an experienced vet - ones that have worked in the UK have usually seen lots of turtles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzer0 Posted April 16, 2007 Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 How often do you feed your turtles and what do you feed them. if they get fat they have trouble getting their necks back in. do they get veg as well as meat and turtle food?. we feed ours out of the main tank in another container to contain the mess they make of the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clipper Posted April 16, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 16, 2007 They are fed generally once every couple of days and are being fed a mixture of wasp larve, frozen fish stuff with calcium aditives etc. This stuff is costom made for Turtes and the love it. I have wound the temperature of the tank up to 28.5 - 29 degs(from about 25) and this has done the trick I think. The action has stopped happenning and he seems a lot more happy. I also feed them both in a separate tank and the water quality is much better in the main tank and for much longer. I fed in the main tank three times when I first got them 3 years ago and the stink in three days was enough to find a better way. Now all I have to do is get rid of the shell fungus.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzer0 Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 have you tried putting those calcium blocks in the tank? also you can float those things birds sharpen their beaks on in the tank. turtles also need greens such as, celery, carrots and corgettes, they love bananas as well. you can float a carrot and they can chase it around the tank. take it out before it gets manky. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clipper Posted April 18, 2007 Author Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Do Calcium blocks quite regularily. Like the idea about a carrot and am about to try it out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Insect Direct Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 Whats wasp larve ?? sounds interesting where do you get that? For fungus Id add abit of salt which i do every now an again with my turtles anyway. Also why has it got fungus, does it have a heat lamp and some where for it to bask/sunbath etc, turtles really love sunning them self and is essential they dry their shell out often! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
repto Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 what are you doing up at that time mincie?have you not heard of bed and sleep?Hows those beardies going? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gatito Posted April 18, 2007 Report Share Posted April 18, 2007 turtles also need greens such as, celery, carrots and corgettes, they love bananas as well. you can float a carrot and they can chase it around the tank. take it out before it gets manky. subzer0, my turtle is almost never into carrot, but i'd like to try banana if he might like it. How do i give it to him? He's fed in a big bucket with tank water (combines a separate feeding area, and tank vacs/water changes, to keep my tank pretty), will floating banana in his tank make it mucky or should i give him pieces in his bucket when i feed him? Should i freeze it like his dinner, or keep it soft? A little info about my turtle, now that we have a new forum - my 12cm shell, red-ear slider Vegas doesn't like eating out-of-water, and i don't like stinky tank, so we have the turtle-in-a-bucket scheme. I premake his dinner by blending up ox-heart, peas, carrot and other veges, then making little 3cm x 2cm x just under 1cm thick packages, wrapping them in glad-wrap, and freezing them. At dinner time i take one of these and cut it into 6-8 pieces - he tends to be more keen when they're still frozen, as they float - he takes it to the bottom and works at it. The thawed bits sink and aren't as nice unless he catches them sinking past his face. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subzer0 Posted April 20, 2007 Report Share Posted April 20, 2007 gatito.descarado what we do in just use water out of the tap warm of course. we feed them in a storage cube type thing. I hand feed them the banana. they just eat it. if you are feeding them in another container you can drop it in there for them to eat. we cut it up into peices. they won't eat a whole one. maybe two or three slices. the local kindergarten and pre school do the same thing with theirs. ours are ten years old. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTM Posted April 23, 2007 Report Share Posted April 23, 2007 A vet in the Wellington area... Dr Ray Lord (Maidstone Vet or Upper Hutt Vet (can't remember which)) He is pretty knowledgable about turtles, in fact he has some himself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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