Is my ELN sick?

[Jared3311]

Hi Guys,

I currently have a baby ELN turtle which I have owned for roughly 3 months. Normally he is very active and always swims to the top of the tank whenever I walk past and is very calm when I take him out of the water for feeding or sunlight.
However, for the last few hours he has been hiding under his dock at the top of the water. no longer swimming towards me, constantly hiding in his shell and is extremely skittish when picked up. I have also noticed he is blowing a few bubbles out of his mouth.

I have not added anything new to the tank. He is in roughly 70L (planning on moving to a larger tank and pond when bigger) with 12 small flame tail gudgeon. Have river sand as the substrate and got the water at 24 degrees.

Not sure if this is just an off night or if he is potentially sick, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[MaccasReptiles]

Most baby turtles are quite skittish and general swim away when coming near the tank. Is your ELN in a high traffic area in the house? He/she could be stressed.

What does your set up look like? Can you post a picture?

What have you been using for food sources other than the gudgeon?

Also, what do your water parameters look like?

Also, turtles are more of a look don't touch type reptile unless taking them out for sun time

 

[Flaviemys purvisi]

Do a full water chemistry test, testing especially for the presence of Ammonia, and nitrites. Have you noticed and buoyancy problems?? Does the turtle have trouble maintaining neutral buoyancy? Is it swimming off balance or head down, backside up? What type of filter are you running on this tank??

 

[Jared3311]

Do a full water chemistry test, testing especially for the presence of Ammonia, and nitrites. Have you noticed and buoyancy problems?? Does the turtle have trouble maintaining neutral buoyancy? Is it swimming off balance or head down, backside up? What type of filter are you running on this tank??

I ended up taking him to the vet, was put on antibiotics for a month. She expected that it was a birth defect and that he would likely not make it as he only weights 14grams after 4-5 months. Since then though he is completely back to normal and is slowly gaining weight! Not entirely sure what the actual problem was, from my research I think it was potentially a respiratory problem.