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General Illnesses
1. Turtle won't eat:
*This is normal for a few days in a new environment. Try favorite foods, if unknown try: Live foods like crickets, worms and snails. Also try some greens like Duckweed.
*Raise the water temperature to around 82-85 degrees F. (28-29 degrees C) and basking temperature around 90 degrees F. (32-34 degrees C). Vitamins If the turtle isn’t eating then start giving them vitamin baths and add a calcium block to their water.
* Make sure they have proper UV lighting, this will help stimulate their appetite. Give them regular day and night cycles, with a day period of not less than 14 hours. To make sure they can get uninterrupted sleep, if you keep them in an area heavily traveled at night, cover the tank with a dry but dark cloth. If this goes on longer then two weeks or other symptoms are present, such as puffy eyes or open mouth breathing, it may be a more serious problem and they should be taken to a good herp vet.
2. Turtle's eyes are swollen shut, or infected:
*This is usually caused by a vitamin A deficiency, and, if caught early, can be treated with adding vitamins to food. If they turtle has stopped eating, you will have to soak them in a vitamin bath with a substantial amount of liquid vitamins in it, or get a vitamin shot from a vet, or both. Once infection has set in, only a vet can help your turtle. If your turtle has stopped eating, see the subject on that, above.
*This can also be caused by a lack of sufficient UV light. Get your turtle direct sunlight, or a brand new Reptisun 8.0 or a Mercury Vapor Bulb to bask in.
3. Possible RI:
* Vocalizing, either by loud breathing or clicking sounds
* Appears to be gasping for breath or open mouth breathing
* Swimming lopsided or appears to have a hard time diving
* Has mucus or foam at the mouth or nose
* Excessive basking
* Has stopped eating
* Swollen eyes
Respritory Infection is very deadly in turtles. It is IMPERATIVE the turtle be brought to a reptile vet ASAP to get antibiotics. Most untreated turtles who have respiratory infections will die.
4. Fungus, or shell rot:
*The least toxic method of treating shell is the salt soak. If fungus gets advanced, it will kill your turtle, so seek vet care ASAP. In mild cases, try the salt soaks first.
*Salt baths and drydocking, with lots of UVA/UVB lighting, but not to the point where the turtle gets severely dehydrated.
Here's the "recipe" for the salt bath:
Add 2 tablespoons (=38g, 30ml or 1.3oz) of either sea, aquarium or kosher salt per gallon/3.8 liters ... or 10g salt/liter. You can also add anti-fungal medicine to the salt bath. The water should be just deep enough to cover the shell. Depending on the severity of the fungus, let soak 3-5 days for a few hours each day, or change half of the salt/medicinal solution, replacing it with proportionally more salt/medicine for an all-day soak.
5."Soft Shell":
*If it is a hatchling the shell will be slightly soft or have some elasticity. If it is soft enough that it dents when you press on it then they need more calcium and UV lighting. Turtles need UVA/UVB lighting for proper vitamin and calcium absorption and for the shell to harden normally.
*Soft shell is also a sign of metabolic bone disease (MBD). If the turtle has MBD it needs lots of calcium, vitamins and UV or he will die. In advanced cases of MBD, vets can give the turtle shots of calcium directly into the blood stream.
6. Loose scutes or air bubbles:
*If there are scutes underneath, your turtle is shedding and growing. This is a sign of health, not sickness. DO NOT pull the scutes off. As the new scute becomes fully formed, the old scute is released. If you pull the scute off before the new scute is fully formed, your turtle may have exposed bone, and this is difficult and complex to treat, and leaves the turtle subject to disease and death.
7. Reddish skin and/or shell:
*Turtle may have an infection which has worked its way into the blood. This can kill your turtle. It requires a visit to the vet for antibiotics.
8. Turtle's rear end is swollen:
*This is one of many possible indications of kidney failure (although it can also mean any of a number of other serious conditions.) If it is kidney failure, only palliative care is possible. Some other conditions can be treated. If you have several turtles, and one has kidney failure, it may be a sign that the animal has been feed too much protein. Change the diet of your other turtles.
*If your turtle is female, and you gently feel the area around her rear, and you feel lump, she may be graven and need to lay eggs. SEE 14 below.
9. Turtle appears slightly swollen in front and back:
*Your turtle may simply be getting fat. How much have you been feeding them? It's O.K. for them to be somewhat plump in the fall if you are going to hibernate them, it helps them get through the winter. If you are not going to hibernate them then cut down on how much or how often you are feeding them.
10. Turtle has a bump on the side of his head, or one on each side of his head:
*Your turtle has an ear infection, sometimes called an ear abscess. This is very, very painful to the turtle and requires a vet or experienced turtle rehabber with the proper training and equipment to treat. The ears must be lanced, the infection cleaned out, and then the ears must be treated to permit healing without reinfection. DO NOT DO THIS YOURSELF WITHOUT TRAINING. If the vet wants to sedate the turtle to reduce it's pain, there is nothing wrong with that. Generally, the appearance of ear abscesses means you have not been keeping the turtle's enclosure clean enough. Review your husbandry and improve you filter or other means of cleaning your turtle's home.
11. Turtle's shell has formations of pyramids on each scute:
*The turtle is being feed too much protein and will get kidney failure at a young age unless immediate correction in the diet is undertaken.
12. Turtle doesn't poop after eating small stones or gravel:
*This could be a sign of impaction. the turtle's digestive tract may have become blocked. This requires immediate vet care.
13. Turtle has squiggly things in its poop or in its tank, even after you completely clean the tank, or is listless or doesn't gain weight or grow even though it's eating:
*All of these things can be indications of worms or other parasitic infestation. Most wild turtles have these. However, they are less exposed to the ones their bodies throw off in the wild than in captivity. These are VERY CATCHING and if ANY turtle in a tank has it, you have to assume all have caught it. This is generally treated BY A VET ONLY with a number of possible treatments, including Panacur. You must isolate each affected turtle, and clean out their tanks DAILY until the infestation has been eliminated. Some people feel this can be overtreated.
14. Female Turtle is Restless or lays eggs in the water:
*A female turtle does not need to have been with a male to lay eggs. If she hasn't been, the eggs will not be fertile. However, she still needs a warm, root-free, deep( the depth needs to be about equal to the length of her shell, or slightly more) moist, sandy soil to lay the eggs in. If you fail to give your female turtle a suitable place to lay her eggs, she is likely to become eggbound, which will lead to her death if she is not treated by a herp vet. Most will give Oxytocin to stimulate the passing of eggs. The Oxyocin should be preceded by heavy doses of calcium for a few days and extra water. THE VET SHOULD NOT BE REACHING IN TO THE TURTLE FOR THE EGGS. If the egg has become heavily calcified and has to be removed by the vet, this will require surgery, and the turtle should be sedated. THIS IS SERIOUS AND DANGEROUS SURGERY.
Much of this information was found at the former TurtleSale.com® Forum.