Urgent! Lives in Danger! Please help!

novicekeeper · #1 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 11:29 PM

Please! Can Anybody Help Me?!
I have 2 baby yellow bellied turtles, about 2 inches long and they are very ill. Their eyes have bubbled over an they are not able to open them, as a result they are not feeding, hardly at all active in the water and their shells are really soft, not at all as firm as when I bought them 2 weeks ago. I'm so afraid my tiny angels are going to die. The silly fool at the exotic pet shop who sold my babies too me said that i needn't worry about buying anything 'fancy' for them as they are such hardy little mites that they could live in a bucket of water with a brick in the middle. Of course I didn't take the advice literally, but it makes me wonder how many turtles have died because of his negligent advice to new keepers? Anyway, I researched what environment the turtles would thrive in and promptly kitted the little ones out. They have an 18in long tank by 10 in width and 12in depth with approx 4-5 litres of water in (Is this not a big enough tank? Too much water?) The water has been treated with King British Turtle and Terrapin Water Freshener. They have dried shrimp and reptomin offered to them and a small piece of cuttlefish lives in the tank for their vitamin uptake. I have also bought a plant to keep in the water for them to have a nibble on. Not sure what type, but its apparently quite a common plant. I have made them a basking area with some rocks from the garden centre (I boiled them first to kill any possible parasites or infections). They have a 50 watt exo terra heat glo bulb positioned to shine on the rocks 10 inch away from the rock surface for 12 hours a day for them to dry and bask(Too hot? Too close? For too long?) They also have a 10in UV light positioned in the lid approx 12in above them. I am wondering if it is the UV light that's harming my babies so badly? It was sold to me from an aquatic and reptile shop with the assurance that it was perfect for my baby binky and baby littlefoot to get the right amount of UV. It came with no packaging but a flimsy casing of grey corrugated cardboard. On close inspection (just now) it says: Tropical Marine G825 Ultra Violet 6B. But it says UV-C. What on earth is that? I've heard of UV-A and UV-B, but not C? Oh my goodness, it says it's dangerous to the skin and eyes. Oh my goodness! Have I been accidentally killing them? Is this lightbulb legal? It could have harmed my small children as well! If this really is dangerous to all and sundry does anyone know where I can get a real UV bulb for my tiny turtles?....... But apart from the bulb, do I seem to be doing everything else ok?

Tina · #2 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 11:38 PM

Graham is the user who has most knowledge on turtles... he's not logged in at the moment but please keep checking back as I'm sure he'll try to help you when he does log in.

I'm sorry your first post is such a distressed one

Good luck with them.

netty.ray · #3 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 11:47 PM

like tina says graham is your man all i can do is advise you to read the sticky at the top of the page that says terrepin care and keep checking back for a reply from graham sorry i carnt be more helpfull.

indigo_rock_girl · #4 (**permalink**) 04-05-2008, 11:57 PM

I Have Just Done A Little Bit Of Reaserach And UV-C Is Harmfull To Your Turtles - You Will Need A UV-B
India

indigo_rock_girl · #5 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 12:06 AM

uv-c is used to sterilise things and to prevent disease - i think it is used in hospitals - on another forumm they said Using UVC directly (with animals) can be harmful to animals

india

indigo_rock_girl · #6 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 12:20 AM

I have joined a turtle care forum now and i will ask them on there
india

indigo_rock_girl · #7 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 12:39 AM

one reply was -

im pretty sure if you go to the pet store they have ointments and stuff for the water theat clears that problem up because i have seen it in the store

india

indigo_rock_girl · #8 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 12:55 AM

ok i was cinfirmed UV-C is harmfull

i will check tomoz on the replies about it

but now i am off to bed (1 am is too late for me)

bye bye i'll try to get some sleep

if only my neighbours would stop parting lol

night night

zukomonitor · #9 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 01:35 AM

im not a tort person, but sound like everything is fine except yor UV bulb.

UVC is not natural (ozone layer filters it) it is used to sterilize water, so get rid of yours asap and get a named brand that you recognise - zoomed fluorescent tubes seem to be the best - check out my sticky in the lizard section as regards to all UV needs

all the best

Graham · #10 (**permalink**) 05-05-2008, 09:45 AM

Get the UVC out of there right now! UVC lamps are used in water sterilisers, it's extremely dangerous to your turts!

They are probably suffering from photo-kerato-conjunctivitis which is cause by over exposure to ultra violet radiation, if you stop using the lamp this may clear up on it's own, you can get eye drops for reptiles which may help, but I would take them to a herp specialist vet as this could be very serious.

Other than that your tank is nowhere near big enough, 4 or 5 litres of water is less than 1/10th of what a single hatchling turtle requires, this will result in very poor water quality which, amongst other things, will aggravate the problem with their eyes and may lead to infection.

There's a sticky at the top of this section that explains how to calculate the tank size required, and there's a link to an excellent article on filtration which is something else you'll need.

Out of interest, did the shop give you any idea of how big these turts will grow?

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