Help me, my terrapins are ill. i think its MBD

[cwj1993]

i got terrapins in the summer from a local shop, where i was told they DIDNT need filtering water heaters, or any kind of lights. i had never kept any kind of exotic pet before so i didnt question it... however now that its the winter and they arent getting much sunlight, their eyes have become swollen, they are dosile and cant walk or swim well at all... basically look really ill. they arent feeding and this has all happened within a few days. i researched the symptoms and i saw that its probably mbd. please help me, tell me what to do! i have found out recently that i should have uv lights for them and i have ordered uvb 10.0 lights for reptiles from ebay, cos i dont know where else i can buy them from. i dont want my terrapins to die please reply

 

[Otolith]

Take them to an exotics vet, sounds as though if its past the point of a small tweak. What are the water parameters? What kind of set up did you have them in?

 

[AFRO-thunder]

Uneducated pet shop employees are always a problem when it comes to turtles. Go to http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/ to seek for further assistance. Maybe a a member nearby can help you with your problem or suggest a reptile specialized vet.

If they are looking really ill and stop feeding, then chances for survival are slim. The reptile lights may be a good start, but from your posting I fear that this is not the only problem. Did you also buy a heater for the water and a filter?

I don't want to point the finger at you, but that's the price you pay if you don't do proper literature/internet research before acquiring a new pet. At least there's some cold comfort for you: You are not the only one out there with this problem. Every year thousands of sliders are imported into the EU just to die within the first years because of unexperienced keepers and bad advice from shops.

 

[paul112]

I'd suspect a respiratory infection rather than MBD for such a rapid decline.

Get a water heater in there, keep the water temps around 27-29'C while they are appearing ill. Offer a basking area with temps of around 32'C where the turtles can dry off completely. Just use a household spotlight for the time being.

Try offering tinned tuna (drain any oil or brine first), or bloodworm to stimulate the appetite.

Paul

 

[coura]

Uneducated pet shop employees are always a problem when it comes to turtles. Go to http://www.britishcheloniagroup.org.uk/ to seek for further assistance. Maybe a a member nearby can help you with your problem or suggest a reptile specialized vet.

If they are looking really ill and stop feeding, then chances for survival are slim. The reptile lights may be a good start, but from your posting I fear that this is not the only problem. Did you also buy a heater for the water and a filter?

I don't want to point the finger at you, but that's the price you pay if you don't do proper literature/internet research before acquiring a new pet. At least there's some cold comfort for you: You are not the only one out there with this problem. Every year thousands of sliders are imported into the EU just to die within the first years because of unexperienced keepers and bad advice from shops.

You cutted down the chase, and also VET NOW! But since you mecioned in my humble opinion the massive import of sliders and some other american species into the EU, should be severily restricted. Once that was in place, serious keepers should be encoraged to breed these turtles in small numbers, providing high quality cb offspring to the pet trade. Also their aquisition should have some adicional criteria like a small degree in animal care and even registration of the animals.

 

[cwj1993]

hey thanks everyone for the advice. at the moment i dont have a filter or a heater (i was advised by the shopkeeper that heaters lights and filters were not necessary and to just change the water in the tank once a week) but ive got a regular house bulb for basking for the time being. both my terrapins are still alive but still look ill. i put a cuttlefish bone in the tank and i dont know if thats the reason why but one of the terrpins is almost back to normal. as for the tuna, where do i put it? i read tht terrapins only feed in water, but the ill terrapin is not moving from the basking spot. i think thats why hes not eating, because he wont go into the water.