HELP! turtle sleeping all the time, not moving

[ShellyGinny29]

Try to contact the person you got it from, and find out what he was feeding it. I don't think that it's in any imminant danger of starving. Personally, I would concentrate on meat and meat related foods right now. Try canned cat food, if there's a bait store nearby, get some worms, if you can find some, crickets, pill bugs, chopped up raw fish or lean beef. My yearlings have no heat on them, and go outside everyday. I would make sure it soaks in clean water several times a day, maybe a 1/2 hour at a time. Make sure it gets some outside time, but not too hot.

I contacted them, all they said was she ate worms and it was a bummer she was in this condition. I'm not consulting them anymore. It turns out they're just a pet store and really have no care for the animals. I don't think she's dying, it may have just been she was too cold. She's moving around now. Whenever I go to soak her, however, she just sits in the water. We've been feeding her worms, strawberries, lettuce, kale and pill bugs, but she won't touch it. It looks like she just wants to eat the dirt.

I must say, she's doing much better than Saturday, when she didn't move at all. About a half hour ago, before I got on the computer, I put her next to her water dish to see if she'd drink anything, and when I came back, she had moved underneath the light and looked like she was basking. She lifted her head up when I came by, even though her eyes are sealed shut and won't open. I'm wondering if she's going blind at this moment. I'll try soaking her in a slightly bigger container in a bit, and get her a new worm (the other ones keep frying, dangit) and some new food.

Thank you everyone!

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Three years old is still very young, but not a baby. Even if she were going into hibernation mode, she would be waking up when you soak her. Hold her with two hands, with both your thumb's on her stomach, facing you. Very gently squeeze her with your thumbs and see if any bubbles come out of her nose. Are her eyes sealed shut and swollen? If she is not waking up at all, that is not good. Turtle's can go a very long time without eating, so that would not be my main concern right now. At this point I would just keep her warm, and soak her with warm water, until, or when you can get her to a vet. I can see you are doing everything you possibly can for her now. Good luck and keep us updated.

Yeah, she's a juvenile. I don't think she's going into hibernation mode, it may have been she was too cold because it's getting colder in Oregon. Her eyes are sealed shut, but not swollen. I'm worrying she's going blind because whenever I soak her, her eyes won't open like they did before.


She is doing MUCH better than before.

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Three years old is still very young, but not a baby. Even if she were going into hibernation mode, she would be waking up when you soak her. Hold her with two hands, with both your thumb's on her stomach, facing you. Very gently squeeze her with your thumbs and see if any bubbles come out of her nose. Are her eyes sealed shut and swollen? If she is not waking up at all, that is not good. Turtle's can go a very long time without eating, so that would not be my main concern right now. At this point I would just keep her warm, and soak her with warm water, until, or when you can get her to a vet. I can see you are doing everything you possibly can for her now. Good luck and keep us updated.

Yeah, she's a juvenile. I don't think she's going into hibernation mode, it may have been she was too cold because it's getting colder in Oregon. Her eyes are sealed shut, but not swollen. I'm worrying she's going blind because whenever I soak her, her eyes won't open like they did before.


She is doing MUCH better than before.

 

[yagyujubei]

I would try some ointment for her eyes. You can get Terramycin ointment at a feed store, Or just a little vaseline slathered on her lids might be enough to get her eyes working again.

 

[katelyn0974]

Aw poor baby. Glad to hear she's doing better though.

 

[ShellyGinny29]

I would try some ointment for her eyes. You can get Terramycin ointment at a feed store, Or just a little vaseline slathered on her lids might be enough to get her eyes working again.

The vaseline won't hurt it? And the chemicals won't do anything?


I am definitely worried she's going blind or something's going on with her eyes, though.

 

[Ashliewood]

Sounds like you need a bigger enclosure so it
Doesn't get too hot in there. try and big storage tupperware

 

[yagyujubei]

Vaseline won't hurt it's eyes. It will keep the lids from sticking together.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Why don't you skip all that and go get her a worm instead? If she's starving I think I'd be knee deep in earth in the backyard trying to find a worm. You mention this wasn't an impulse buy but I'm worried that while not impulsive, irresponsible. I'm sorry if that offends but it sounds like you're not in the position to care for her on your own. Have your parents read up on her via the forum? I think getting them involved at this point would be helpful so she doesn't sit in a 10 gallon tank and either freeze to death or starve.

Unless you know what to get at the pet store, you can spend a small fortune and still not get the right equipment. The reptile carpet is not good substrate. It does not hold moisture and your turtle can't burrow in it. A mixture of coconut coir and good clean rich soil or compost is better. Think of a forrest floor.

You need a good UVB bulb. The best ones also add heat. They are not cheap but worth every penny. A heat bulb without UVB is not going to be good enough. You also want the habitat to cool down at night.

A 50 gallon Rubbermaid tub is a better choice. 10 gallons is woefully inadequate.

I may have answered this in the wrong spot, for which I apologize. New here & having trouble navigating. I still have my first box turtle that I got 36 years ago, a healthy old gulfie who was old when I got him. Go get worms & slugs & pill bugs now & do what needs to be done.

 

[Masin]

Unless you know what to get at the pet store, you can spend a small fortune and still not get the right equipment. The reptile carpet is not good substrate. It does not hold moisture and your turtle can't burrow in it. A mixture of coconut coir and good clean rich soil or compost is better. Think of a forrest floor.

You need a good UVB bulb. The best ones also add heat. They are not cheap but worth every penny. A heat bulb without UVB is not going to be good enough. You also want the habitat to cool down at night.

A 50 gallon Rubbermaid tub is a better choice. 10 gallons is woefully inadequate.

I may have answered this in the wrong spot, for which I apologize. New here & having trouble navigating. I still have my first box turtle that I got 36 years ago, a healthy old gulfie who was old when I got him. Go get worms & slugs & pill bugs now & do what needs to be done.

Aw, 36 years together, we have to see pictures!

 

[diaboliqueturtle]

Shortly after we brought home our first box turtle, she became ill with the exact same thing. Her eyes were sealed shut and appeared to be filled with fluid. A quick trip to the vet later, he gave us some pills to dissolve in her soaking water and she made a full recovery.
It could have been stress related, moving for the pet store to a new home, she could have caught cold in transit, could have been a number of things. Or maybe the vet did tell my dad what it was from but he just didn't tell me? I was 9 years old at the time... Most important thing is that she never had another issue afterward.
Worrying makes everything seem worse. Go to the vet, your little boxie is worth it

 

[The4ts]

We just got a rescue adoption ebt from a breeder at the reptile show in Oregon as well, are turtle is much older but when we got him, he was feather light and we were told very prone to respiratory infections and every time they housed him outside he got sick and got their other turtles sick too so he's on permanent indoor living, he's been doing great with us and has gained sufficient weight and no signs of RI but I wonder if your turtle came from the same breeder and got RI from my new guy, he was a drop off from a former owner that no longer wanted him. I don't want to mention names on a thread but if you pm me I can give you my breeders name. We adopted him on August 18th at the show in wilsonville.

 

[ShellyGinny29]

We just got a rescue adoption ebt from a breeder at the reptile show in Oregon as well, are turtle is much older but when we got him, he was feather light and we were told very prone to respiratory infections and every time they housed him outside he got sick and got their other turtles sick too so he's on permanent indoor living, he's been doing great with us and has gained sufficient weight and no signs of RI but I wonder if your turtle came from the same breeder and got RI from my new guy, he was a drop off from a former owner that no longer wanted him. I don't want to mention names on a thread but if you pm me I can give you my breeders name. We adopted him on August 18th at the show in wilsonville.

I was there, too! I think I saw that EBT... I was considering getting him, until it turned out to be a boy. Oh, that's so funny! I'll PM you the place we got her from.

 

[Tccarolina]

Hasn't anybody asked for pics yet? I would like to see how this 3 year old looks. Is she really 3, are her eyes shut now, any nasal discharge?

Has she eaten anything yet?

Pics will help immensely.

Steve

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My new turtle Ginny hasn't moved since Tuesday! She's been sleeping and hasn't eaten or drunken anything! I got her on the eighteenth, so she's still really new. I put her outside for a bit today and when I came back to check on her about forty-five minutes later, she hadn't moved a muscle. Does anyone have any suggestions on what to do? I'm worried she's dying!

If turtles get sick, they often respond by inducing a fever. They cook in the sun, to warm their bodies to a temperature that the virus, fungi, or bacteria doesn't like. We do the same thing, only we can heat ourselves. This is why a hot spot is important. Usually (but not always, sometimes the turtle is just stressed, scared, and trying to hide) a new turtle that sleeps a lot needs to fight some type of pathogen. And in it's stressed state, it may not seek water. So try to soak it at least once a day, and then place it in a warm spot (85-90 degrees) in it's pen, allowing it to move to a cooler spot if it wants to. If it repeatedly moves to a cooler spot, let it be.

Steve

 

[Saloli]

Yeah I'm with Steve on this one. Are there any pictures? Has the turtle had access to a UVB/UVA source? What is the heat source? The UVA is almost as important as the UVB as it is part of their visible spectrum. It is sort of like yellow is to most humans, not so much mine as i have some trouble seeing yellow though i see green very well (a main part of our visible spectrum). It effects behavior as well as appetite. Also if the light isn't cycled that will also suppress appetite as well as immune system.

 

[The4ts]

Any update on how the turtles doing?

 

[Atra42o]

How is she doing?

 

[ShellyGinny29]

I want to thank you all for your help, but unfortunately we lost Ginny. She was doing fine until I left her with my dad for the weekend to visit my grandparents on the coast. I came back and went to see her and my dad said she stopped responding to touch Saturday. We left Friday and came back Monday. I suspect she died the fourth, the day before I started sophomore year. She started stinking today when I came home from school and it's just... hard.

I'm possibly adopting my health teacher's box turtle, Tabby, and I'm changing her name to Teddy and keeping her outside with Shelly. It might be a little too soon for me since Ginny just died.

Thank you all again for your help and God Bless

 

[shellysmom]

I'm so sorry to hear that she died, though I wish you had taken me up on my offer to pay for a vet visit.

 

[Terry Allan Hall]

Sounds like she was beyond saving before you aquired her, so don't beat yourself up...you obviously did all you could do. Maybe if you'd gotten her a few months earlier, she could've been helped, but that's just not how it worked out.

Adopt Tabby/Teddy, if you get the chance, and cherish her, along w/ Shelly.

 

[johnhnhn]

RE: HELP!

Right now the room temperature is 78 degrees. No heat or UVB lights. She's in an aquarium with repticarpet on the bottom.

It wasn't an impulse purchase, I've had two box turtles before, one is still living.

It was a normal stool, and I'm pretty sure she urinated in her food dish (I just cleaned it out)

I guess I'll have to be the one to say it. Please don't get another pet unless you have adequate knowledge and funds ready for proper housing, equipment, and medicine. This setup is obviously a death trap for any turtle/tortoise.

 

[yagyujubei]

RE: HELP!

I guess I will be the one to say this. Your remarks do nothing to help. Comments like this have no place here. Your lack of compassion is callous. I bet you're a riot at funerals.

Right now the room temperature is 78 degrees. No heat or UVB lights. She's in an aquarium with repticarpet on the bottom.

It wasn't an impulse purchase, I've had two box turtles before, one is still living.

It was a normal stool, and I'm pretty sure she urinated in her food dish (I just cleaned it out)

I guess I'll have to be the one to say it. Please don't get another pet unless you have adequate knowledge and funds ready for proper housing, equipment, and medicine. This setup is obviously a death trap for any turtle/tortoise.