My alli snapper is having trouble submerging and getting to the bottom of the tank. I use that Sulfa bath stuff and have given him several treatments of it. It appears that after his bath he is ok for a day or two. However, eventually he starts to float again and really has to fight to swim to the bottom. This has been going on and off for about a month now. I made an appointment with a vet but then i called it off because it looked like he was better. Sure enough though, he started floating again. I gave him another bath and he has been fine for the last couple of days but I am thinking that it might start up again tomorrow or sometime this week. Other than that he is behaving normally. He eats a lot and gets along very well with his tank mates. He's just a baby and I want to do whats best for him. If anyone has any experience with this please give me some advice. I would prefer treating it myself and avoid taking him to the vet unless I have to. Thanks!
Sick Alligator Snapper- need help!
- Thread starter vio1ator
- Start date
sometimes snappers get a little gassy. This is going to soudn crazy but I had it work for all of the snappers that had this problem when I worked in the exotic vet clinic.
turn your turtle upside down and have someone hold him there so that it doesnt flip itself back over. While he is upside down, take hold of his two back legs and wiggle them around. after a little bit, he should start to fart. I know it is crazy but it will work. This will release the gasses that have built up in him and he should be able to sink again.
Also, stop feeding him goldfish, this is what usually causes the built up gasses. try big head minnows or small shiners from a bait store, not only are they better for your turtle but they are cheaper too.
turn your turtle upside down and have someone hold him there so that it doesnt flip itself back over. While he is upside down, take hold of his two back legs and wiggle them around. after a little bit, he should start to fart. I know it is crazy but it will work. This will release the gasses that have built up in him and he should be able to sink again.
Also, stop feeding him goldfish, this is what usually causes the built up gasses. try big head minnows or small shiners from a bait store, not only are they better for your turtle but they are cheaper too.
haha ok snakeguy i will try that tomorrow morning. his tank mates include a variety of cichlids, an african clawed frog, and a yellow belly. i have read on here that it is not wise to keep snappers with other turtles but they really are best buds. even when they fight over blood worms the snapper will give way to the yellow. the only one that he ever gets aggressive towards is the frog but he is a fair bit bigger and stronger than him at this point so he hasn't done any damage. and its very rare whenever he does snap at him. but i will put him in his own tank when he gets bigger. and i dont feed him gold fish. just pellets, blood worms, and minows when he can catch them and if the fish don't eat them first. someone from a LFS told me to try and feed him garlic and that it could help stop a bacterial infection if that was the cause. have you guys heard of anything like that? and i wasn't successful in getting him to eat garlic even when mixed with his food.
also, when he does begin to float it seems that he goes "ass up" and that is where the buoyancy is located. would that be an indication of gas, an infection, or neither?
There are lots of things you need to take into consideration because the vet is going to ask you lots.
How big is the animal?
How old is the animal?
How big is the tank/tub?
How much filtration is there?
What are your water parameters?
What is the animal fed and how often?
How often does it poop and what is the consistency of it?
How long have you owned it?
How often do you notice this problem?
Try to have all this information when you go to the vet.
This could be a few different things but you can't begin to narrow it down without being able to answer these questions. You also really should take this animal to an exotics vet with experience with turtles. Don't put it off, its better to spend the cash now than lose the animal to something easily treated.
How big is the animal?
How old is the animal?
How big is the tank/tub?
How much filtration is there?
What are your water parameters?
What is the animal fed and how often?
How often does it poop and what is the consistency of it?
How long have you owned it?
How often do you notice this problem?
Try to have all this information when you go to the vet.
This could be a few different things but you can't begin to narrow it down without being able to answer these questions. You also really should take this animal to an exotics vet with experience with turtles. Don't put it off, its better to spend the cash now than lose the animal to something easily treated.
Here this guy is the best in the country with alli snappers ask him he's super helpful his name is John Richards he owns loggerhead acers alligator snapper farm.
macrojon@ipa.net
macrojon@ipa.net
I also wanted to say that I believe snakeguy is right about the gas and I would bet money its coming from the blood worms they kill many African cichlids from malawi bloat as well