Major Turtle help?

Question

Ok, So I have a 6 month old Eastern Painted turtle.Two days ago I started school so I can't keep his light on during the day because my mom calls it a "fire hazzard." I feel so bad and to make things worse, his UVB bulb quit producing the rays, and I won't be able to go get him a new one until saturday due to my busy schedule.He is still growing, but the very tip of his shell is flimsy (not good) and he is showing signs of pyramiding.I will admit I gave into his adorable begging, but when I first started noticing the signs of pyramiding I put my foot down and now he gets 3 pellets a day, and romane lettuce floating in his tank everyday which is gone by the time I get home.He has fish in with him, but shows no interest in them at all.Recently his belly started turning from yellow to pink, which concerned me about Septicemia.We took him to the vet and they did a blood test and everything is fine, now it is BLOOD red and he's not basking when the lights are on(he's not shy), what do i do?

His belly has gone from yellowish pink to a little darker.. and he is also pyramiding. He is in a 75 gallon tank and he's 4". He's an eastern painted turtle and yes, he does have a cuttle bone in for him, filter, i clean the tank twice a week and the vet said he is fine, but I still think something is wrong. His stomach looks fine in the water, but as soon as I take him out, it's really dark, kinda like maroonish.

http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y92/Britt32190/DSCN4668.jpg

Bad picture, but the flash just made his stomach white and he wasn't very happy with me.

He wasn't basking for a while, and I just caught him basking about 10 mins ago. Also he hasn't pooped much, or even at all after a reduced his feeding.

Oh, and I got him from a friend about 6 months ago, and she just now told me that she kidnapped him from the wild =( so he can never go back.

Answer 1

2nd Edit: If he was aquired as a hatchling, then he can't go back home. But if his egg-sack was not present when your friend found him then he had some time to aquaint himself with his natural habitat. Since your vet has given him a clean bill of health he won't pose a threat to a wild population. He could be safely returned to the wild. If he's been in captivity for more than 2 years then I'd advise keeping him as his resistance to parasites etc. would be diminished.
Edit: I just checked your "added details". It looks like I'm going to make an excessivley long post even longer. The pic is fuzzy, but I don't see anything out of the ordinary. The "blood red' that you mentioned wouldn't change from light to dark if it were an infection. So I think that's ruled out. TBH, he looks perfectly healthy to me. This species is supposed to be brightly colored, one of the reasons why they're so popular. They also tend to be REALLY bad tempered, which is probably why his plastron is changing to that firece color. He's peeved w/you. Otherwise your tank size & cleaning habits all look fine. The UV bulb can wait a few days, it won't hurt him.
Since he's only 6 mos., the pyramiding could be a growth spurt. Males don't usually get much larger than 4 - 5", but females will go around 9". Oh, and the poo problem... he won't poo if he doesn't eat enough. Also, water turtles tend to eat their own poo...disgusting, I know. Since he's basking on the sneak, I think he's fine...no fever...and sorry for the scare. :-)

This sounds like an immediate trip to the vet, or call for an emergency visit. You must do something quickly. This species is very fond of basking. Not liking heat can be a signal of illness in reptiles. It's like when people have a fever & try to cool themsleves, but what they do can sometimes make the fever worse. A pink plastron(belly) on this species is usually a sign of infection. Turning red is a serious warning sign of sepsis & time is of the essence. It's possible that the infection wasn't that bad when the prior blood test was taken. The pyramiding you decribed could well be the swelling from an internal infection that hasn't spilled in to the blood stream yet.
Or the vet didn't test for the correct bacteria. A correct test must be performed to identify a specific infectious agent. I strongly suggest washing your hands afer handling this turtle, or even using gloves.
Also, your fish have been exposed or are the hosts of whatever is ailing this animal. That's one of the reasons I prefer to feed my turtles cooked fish. Cooking eliminates bacteria & parasites.
W/o any other heat source, your turtle's water should be about 85F. A sick animal should have his/her water temp raised to 90 - 95F to help the body fight infection. In your turtle's case it's too late for that, s/he needs medical attention pronto.
Many keepers advise not feeding water turtles daily. I don't adhere to this. I feed my adults daily & juveniles 2 - 3x daily. I've never had a problem with obesity or shell deformities. I have 3 eastern painteds. My oldest is 15. As long as the habitat is healthy & there is enough room for adequate activity obesity shouldn't be a problem.
This species is highly carnivorous esp. when young. Aside from being too ill, it might not eat any of the fish b/c they're too large. Floating a cuttle bone for him/her to bite should help w/the soft shell problem. Also, a larger tank might be called for. Small habitats can cause growth problems too. A few days w/o UVB won't hurt, but the red shell sounds very bad.

Answer 2

If the lightbulbs are in a proper reflector dome and are secure, the put them on timers to come on and off each day. I have a bunch for my reptiles and I am gone all day...they are very safe. Must have UVB to prevent metabolic bone disease--replace the bulbs every 6 months as they lose potency. He needs a more varied diet. Do you have a water filter and water heater? Do you change the water frequently (filters don't remove ammonia)? Check out this site for more info, care is the same as for RES:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/caresheet-red_ear_slider.htm