Southern Paint is sick...

[Androo]

I received a small aquadic turtle from a guy at work.
he was very poorly taken care of. malnurished, kept in hard tap water, no cal supplements or uv bask. he is over 2 years old and is barely 3 1/2".

since the time i got him, he has had uv bask, turtle diet/crickets, "RO" water, and kepts at 70-75 water temp with an 80 bask temp. has been eating well until he developed a vitamin "A" deficienty. was given sulfa dip and eye drops and feed crickets fat from carrots.

His eyes are clear but now will not eat and hasnt for about a week. most time is spent basking and has developed kindof a cough/mucous wheez. elevated heat and offered food but nothing. at the moment he is very unresponsive, little movement and lays neck strectch out with the occational long mouth open gasp.

any ideas?

[Androo]

A few days ago when he swam alittle i noticed he didnt swim level at all, always leaned to on side.

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[Androo]

All other turtles have been are perfectly healthy.

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[Adrya]

If your southern paint is among other turtles in the same tank, remove him immediately and set him up in a temporary tank. If you don't have another tank, a sterilite/rubbermaid tub will do.

Give your turtle a basking spot of at least 95 degrees. They should actually have a temp that hot for basking all the time.

By the symptoms you've described it seems your turtle has chronic pneumonia, and needs some injectable antibiotics that only a vet can prescribe you. Common antibiotics include enrofloxacin (Baytril), ciprofloxacin, oxytetracycline, or ampicillin (which may cause swelling at the injection site). Please be careful in choosing a good qualified reptile vet, because some vets really are only dog/cat vets and even though they might say they treat reptiles, they may cause your reptile more harm than good.

How big is your tank, what filter are you using (if any), what brand and type of light bulb are you using, and what brand of turtle food are you using?

And what do you mean by "RO water"?

Feel free to ask more questions.

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[John_White]

I agree with Adrya. I would also increase the water temperature to 80 F.
Based on my experience, Reptomin seems to make a well-balanced, nutritious staple diet for aquatic turtles.

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[Androo]

Originally Posted by Adrya

If your southern paint is among other turtles in the same tank, remove him immediately and set him up in a temporary tank. If you don't have another tank, a sterilite/rubbermaid tub will do.
Give your turtle a basking spot of at least 95 degrees. They should actually have a temp that hot for basking all the time.
By the symptoms you've described it seems your turtle has chronic pneumonia, and needs some injectable antibiotics that only a vet can prescribe you. Common antibiotics include enrofloxacin (Baytril), ciprofloxacin, oxytetracycline, or ampicillin (which may cause swelling at the injection site). Please be careful in choosing a good qualified reptile vet, because some vets really are only dog/cat vets and even though they might say they treat reptiles, they may cause your reptile more harm than good.
How big is your tank, what filter are you using (if any), what brand and type of light bulb are you using, and what brand of turtle food are you using?
And what do you mean by "RO water"?
Feel free to ask more questions.

RO or reverse osmosis is just the way the water was filtered before placed in the tank (recommended). The tank is an actual professionally built turtle tank, but the equivalent of a 40 or 50 gal. its only 20" tall, but alot of water surface. the filter is a 400+ gph powerhead with chem/mech filter which was recommended. the light bulb is a exo terra splash proof spot, recommended for turtles. the water temp as of right now is 80 water temp and little over 90 bask. the turtle food i got from the hatchery i received the other turtles at, turtlesource.com. same food they give too all there babies and breeders.

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[TammyJamaica]

Has the little turtle died? The symptoms were quite alarming.

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