my turtle is sick I DONT WANT IT TO DIE?

Question

My brothers slider turtle is sick, one of his eye is swollen and a little bit darker , it srot of seems like he got punched in the eye, he stopped eating and is now like sleepy all the time , its not like him, at all ,please help me, i dont want it to die what can i do?

Answer 1

TAKE IT TO THE VET.

Answer 2

It is experiencing an eye infection. These are commonly caused by problems with the basic cares- often a combination of the following:
- dirty water
- cold water
- small tank
- poor lighting
- poor diet (low in vitamin A)

Sadly, a lot of the advice you get at the average pet shop or even several on-line sites offer poor advice.

Try this:

1. Review the cares at a site like http://www.austinsturtlepage.com or http://www.redearslider.com Fix whatever in your set-up is broken. Common issues include:
- tank is too small, aim for about 10 gallons of water per inch of shell length
- water is too cold, aim for 75-80F
- dirty water needs good filtration, BIG filter!

2. Evaluate the diet. Sliders are mostly meat eaters until after they breed. Try a combination of a good (expensive, sadly) turtle pellet and some live or frozen/thawed 'meaty fish food' like small fish, worms, snails, shrimp, krill, insects, etc.

3. While ill, set the tank up a little differently. Warm the water temps up about 5 more degrees to 80-85F, handle the turtle as little as possible, keep the area around the tank as quiet and motion free as possible.

You can try these three things as well:
a.) Turtle Sulfa Dip, per directions, to help fight secondary infections. (DO NOT use 'sulfa blocks' in the water).
b.) Stress-Coat, a fish medicine, to help condition the water and encourage healthy bacteria, etc.
c.) Using a good UVB light to build health and fight infections.

Answer 3

He most likely has an infection I would take the turtle to the vet to make sure he will be OK, try to find one that works specifically with reptiles.

Answer 4

Take him to the vet immediately. Good luck, hope he is ok soon.

Answer 5

do you add drops to your tank to lower your chlorine level? That can be one reason for the swelling. Is he swimming sideways or blowing bubbles....that can be a sign of a respitory infection.

Answer 6

let it sleep it is tired and the swelling will go down don't worry

Answer 7

Please take him to the vet. But also, check the water quality.