Baby turtle health issues... HELP

TroyMIfishkeeper

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2015
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Troy, Michigan USA
No apologies needed, my friend. glad I can help. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. keep us updated on things improving or getting worse. Also something I almost forgot, I wanted to ask you about calcium and vitamin intake......are you dusting their foods and with what if so? and also, hand-in-hand with that, do you replace UVBs every 6 months, 12 at max?
I haven't been dusting their foods, but when I feed them frozen thawed shrimp I cut pieces of calcium pellets and stick them in there. I try to give them a variety of foods, their main diet is zoomed growth formula but I also try to get them some fruits and veggies here and there. And I do replace their UVB bulb around every 6 months.
 

TroyMIfishkeeper

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2015
285
76
31
Troy, Michigan USA
No apologies needed, my friend. glad I can help. If you have any more questions feel free to ask. keep us updated on things improving or getting worse. Also something I almost forgot, I wanted to ask you about calcium and vitamin intake......are you dusting their foods and with what if so? and also, hand-in-hand with that, do you replace UVBs every 6 months, 12 at max?
I haven't been dusting their foods, but when I feed them frozen thawed shrimp I cut pieces of calcium pellets and stick them in there. I try to give them a variety of foods, their main diet is zoomed growth formula but I also try to get them some fruits and veggies here and there. And I do replace their UVB bulb around every 6 months.
 

Frank Castle

Potamotrygon
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Jan 10, 2016
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I haven't been dusting their foods, but when I feed them frozen thawed shrimp I cut pieces of calcium pellets and stick them in there. I try to give them a variety of foods, their main diet is zoomed growth formula but I also try to get them some fruits and veggies here and there. And I do replace their UVB bulb around every 6 months.
Might be suffering lack of Vitamin D/D3 deficiency then. All herbivorous reptiles should be fed dusted foods on a schedule.....you should always have 2 different types of calcium dust in your arsenal at all times.....one that says "With Vitamin D" and another that says "Without Vitamin D".

Use the dust WITH Vitamin D/D3 once a week, twice on gravid or recently nesting females. Use the dust withOUT D3 every OTHER day, so your weekly regiment would look something like this:
SUNDAY - dust w/ D3
MONDAY - feed, no dusting
TUESDAY - dust, no D3
WEDNESDAY - feed, no dust
THURSDAY - dust, no D3
FRIDAY - feed, no dust
SATURDAY - dust, no D3/SUNDAY - dust with D3.......it's up to you if you want to mix up Sat/Sun since 7 days a week makes things uneven, just as long as you follow a similar regiment to this.

With turtles, it's extra-important due to their need for these vitamins for proper shell growth.

What spectrum UVB are you using? 2.0, 5.0, 10.0? Also, is it a strip light (T5, T8, etc) or is it a universal that you can screw into any standard household light fixture?

Mind you, you CAN overdose on Vitamin D.....the trick is getting all the nutrients they need, but also in the right portions of those said nutrients
 
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Frank Castle

Potamotrygon
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It's a T8 strip light, spectrum is 2.0.
I'll be sure to pick up some vitamin supplements tomorrow.
strip lights are best, that's the advantage of having a hot bask and a cool bask.....they will soak up UVB whether they are on either end of the tank. If you notice the 2.0 isn't being very beneficial, might be better to switch to a 5.0.
 

Frank Castle

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this is accurate, but you don't want them to go into brumation unless A.) you plan on breeding B.) in which case they are adults before brumating C.) temperatures remain under 56F for the duration of the 3 month brumation period.

Never want to brumate a reptile that isn't an adult
Shoot, I forgot the biggest most important rule D.) Make sure the stomach is 100% completely empty before bromating.
 

Frank Castle

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Shoot, I forgot the biggest most important rule D.) Make sure the stomach is 100% completely empty before bromating.
EDIT: also, I meant to say all reptiles need food dusted, not just herbivores. For carnivore/omnivores, dusting the insects or pinky/fuzzy mice, etc is often more effective and easier than getting herbivores to eat dusted romaine/greens/etc. TroyMIfishkeeper TroyMIfishkeeper
 

TroyMIfishkeeper

Jack Dempsey
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Dec 7, 2015
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Troy, Michigan USA
EDIT: also, I meant to say all reptiles need food dusted, not just herbivores. For carnivore/omnivores, dusting the insects or pinky/fuzzy mice, etc is often more effective and easier than getting herbivores to eat dusted romaine/greens/etc. TroyMIfishkeeper TroyMIfishkeeper
Ok, good thing you told me haha. I'll have to start dusting my snapper's food from now on then haha
 
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Frank Castle

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Ok, good thing you told me haha. I'll have to start dusting my snapper's food from now on then haha
Well, the exception being reptile which frequently eat prey items with BONES in them, such as mice or fish. I don't think you need as MUCH calcium in this instance, as you won't OD on it, but much of it will be excreted n their stool. Granted the extra vitamins will help, but you also need to consider a few things for this:
A.) Do you have a UVB on your Snapper?
1.) Snapping turtles are largely nocturnal so there's a good chance dusting with Vitamin D may not have benefits if they don't have UVB or sunlight to process it. The jury is still out on that one unfortunately and studies are still being done to see how this works in nocturnal animals. If you have UVB, I would go ahead and dust w/ D3, if not, just use the dust without D3.
2.) Some reptiles which were once largely thought to be nocturnal are actually crepuscular (hunts from dusk to dawn), therefore in the wild they DO see sunlight in low amounts, therefore will process modest amounts of D3, so over the past few years keepers of Leos have found D3 to be beneficial in such animals. However if a UVB is not being used, might be better again, not to use D3.
3.) Observe the stool and keep a watch for white in it. Unlike fish where white is bad, reptiles excrete excess calcium in their stool regularly. If you notice obscure amounts of white in the stool, cut back dusting or cut back on the amount of vertebrates you feed them.....what you are seeing is simply calcium that hasn't been processed because they have already absorbed the needed amount.

Ultimately, it's up to you to research each particular reptile to find out how these factors influence and affect them.
 

TroyMIfishkeeper

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2015
285
76
31
Troy, Michigan USA
Well, the exception being reptile which frequently eat prey items with BONES in them, such as mice or fish. I don't think you need as MUCH calcium in this instance, as you won't OD on it, but much of it will be excreted n their stool. Granted the extra vitamins will help, but you also need to consider a few things for this:
A.) Do you have a UVB on your Snapper?
1.) Snapping turtles are largely nocturnal so there's a good chance dusting with Vitamin D may not have benefits if they don't have UVB or sunlight to process it. The jury is still out on that one unfortunately and studies are still being done to see how this works in nocturnal animals. If you have UVB, I would go ahead and dust w/ D3, if not, just use the dust without D3.
2.) Some reptiles which were once largely thought to be nocturnal are actually crepuscular (hunts from dusk to dawn), therefore in the wild they DO see sunlight in low amounts, therefore will process modest amounts of D3, so over the past few years keepers of Leos have found D3 to be beneficial in such animals. However if a UVB is not being used, might be better again, not to use D3.
3.) Observe the stool and keep a watch for white in it. Unlike fish where white is bad, reptiles excrete excess calcium in their stool regularly. If you notice obscure amounts of white in the stool, cut back dusting or cut back on the amount of vertebrates you feed them.....what you are seeing is simply calcium that hasn't been processed because they have already absorbed the needed amount.

Ultimately, it's up to you to research each particular reptile to find out how these factors influence and affect them.
I do have a UVB light on during the day for my snapper, he's out in the open during the day but he's more out and about at night. I'll give the D3 a try but I'll probably just end up using plain calcium and vitamins. His main diet is jumbo shrimp and chicken, I do feed him the shrimp with the shells on but I don't know how much calcium that's giving him. Again, I do cut calcium pellets and stick it into his food, but the extra vitamins might be beneficial.
How can I make sure I don't overdose on D3?
 
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