I think I burned my baby red ear slider    3/9/13
Ok hi my name is my
<Hi My, Sue here with you.>
and I have a friend who gave me a res because he was too small to sell in her pet shop he has been doing well but I got a 10 gallon tank for him today so I cleaned it and rinsed it in hot water from my tub when I put Mr. turtle in he started swimming in circle and his eyes started to turn red so I took him out and put him in the smaller tank his eyes were closed and his mouth was open he wasn't really moving so I started to panic so then I tried moving him around he moved but very little
so I called my friend and she said to put him in the sink with cold water running on him I'm not really a pet person I got him for my 3 year old son but I've grown attached to him so I don't want him to die can some one help me please ill include a pic so you can see what his eyes look like cuz someone told me to make sure they don't look cloudy
<You said you washed the tank out with hot water. Is it your belief that you filled it with hot water accidentally as well? Or might it be whatever you used as a cleaning agent?>
<Either way, chemical or burn injury, he should be seen immediately (as an emergency – usually there will be at least one vet in the area who sees pets around the clock for emergency care). In a case like this, there is no substitute for a vet. Assuming he did suffer a burn injury, he/she will more than likely prescribe an antibiotic eye ointment as well as a topical antibiotic cream or ointment for his skin and shell.>
I think I burned my baby red ear slider
<And to my last reply, the vet would also likely prescribe an oral or injectable antibiotic as well - another reason that he needs to be seen immediately.>
Re: I think I burned my baby red ear slider    3/10/13
Hi its myisha again here is a pic of Mr. turtle right now I just have him chilling in the sink with no water I have grown attached to Mr. turtle and I don't want him to die please I hope someone can help me but I think I'm going to try to find a vet tomorrow cuz I really don't want him to die
Yes I filled it with the hot water accidentally but I cleaned it with a Brillo pad so maybe it was that and I don't have any vets close by too me I have to take him downtown I left him in a small empty tank overnight and his mouth closed a little and his eyes look better is there anything I can do for him until we can get him to a exotic vet? Also did you see the pics I sent?
Thank you so much, Sue
<Hi Myisha - I'm Darrel … Sue asked my opinion.>
<At the moment, the main thing I'm concerned about is that the skin damage doesn't lead to a secondary infection.  As long as that doesn't happen the skin should start to heal and Mr. Turtle will get a bit better each day.  So here is what I'd like you to do>
<Keep Mr. Turtle in a dry container until he heals more.   Soak him in water up to his shoulders twice a day, for about 10 minutes each time.  The level should be so that we can make sure he can get his eyes under water if he chooses and that he can old his mouth above the water if that is what he wants.  Offer food just in the second soaking.  Just a small amount of some floating food sticks or Koi pellets.>
<If you can find a veterinarian, the main thing I'd like is an antibacterial wash of the head, eyes and mouth - and an examination to see how much scaring there might be.  Unless Mr. Turtle has severe burns, a course of injectable antibiotics is not necessary.>
<Continue treating him like this for a week or so and see how his eyes and mouth look.  Your main indicators are, as always, how active he tries to be, if he's interested and successful in eating.  Finally, please write back and let us know how he's doing!!>
<Darrel>

Baby RES, burned     2/17/13 Hello, My son was recently given two RES and I have been taking care of them trying to do my best since I have grown to really care for them. But, I have made a mistake already and accidentally burn one with hot water when i had them in the skin I realize quickly and started to Google what I should do next. I've called to Exotic Pet Medical places but the cost is impossible for me to put up. So Im sending this Email... When she was burn her legs were stiff and a little red but after an hour or so she was moving around, the next day I noticed the blisters on both legs by the end of the day her left leg bubble was slightly gone but the right legs bubble is still there and big. She is still moving around fast. Please is there anything I could do to make it better. Also she has a couple white spot on her shell is there something for that also... Thanks <Without recourse to antibiotics, there's a high risk of secondary infection. I would urge you to have this turtle looked at by a vet as soon as humanly possible. Do call around other vets. Animal welfare charities can help, too. But in any case, if the burn is "clean" it can heal nicely without problems. However, you must "dry dock" the turtle for a few days. Allowing the turtle to swim will allow bacterial infections to start. Provided they have access to drinking water, aquatic reptiles can be kept out of water for weeks at a time, and this allows the skin to dry out, preventing bacterial infections to a large degree. Do read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/treating%20RES%20Dis%20DarrelB.htm The section on "Dry Dock" and "Isolation" is the section you want to read. After about a week to ten days it should be obvious if the skin is healing nicely or the turtle is still suffering (e.g., the skin remains red, is getting worse, or is starting to smell). Do also read here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/TurtDisTraumaF.htm

Baby RES
Hi Bob,
<Sue>
Saw this one already; but not sure how to reply on it. Hopefully Darrel, Neale have some experience, knowledge re- this and can respond.
~ Sue
<Thank you Sue. I don't know what to do either; than to ask for help.
BobF>
Baby RES, hlth.      2/16/13
Hello, My son was recently given two RES and I have been taking care of them trying to do my best since I have grown to really care for them. But, I have made a mistake already and accidentally burn one with hot water when i had them in the skin I realize quickly and started to Google what I should do next. I've called to Exotic Pet Medical places but the cost is impossible for me to put up. So Im sending this Email... When she was burn her legs were stiff and a little red but after an hour or so she was moving around, the next day I noticed the blisters on both legs by the end of the day her left leg bubble was slightly gone but the right legs bubble is still there and big. She is still moving around fast. Please is there anything I could do to make it better. Also she has a couple white spot on her shell is there something for that also... Thanks
<Sorry for the delay in responding... We are waiting on our turtle folks here. In the meanwhile, please do read here:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/BabyTurtDisF.htm
and here: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/turtshellrot.htm
Bob Fenner> 

Cause of death? Baby RES   11/22/12
Hi! 
<Hi Lana! Sue here with you.>
I was wondering if you could give me some peace of mind. Last April a friend gave me a Baby RES (sold legally in my country... I think) as a present, I kept it in a big bowl with water for a while until I had saved enough money to buy a proper tank (about three months).
<Did he not have any heat lamp, UVB light, or warm, dry basking spot for 3 months?  If so, that was a very long time to go without them. All 3 are absolute “must-have's.”>
The tank I bought is maybe 20 gallons, longer than taller.
<That's a nice size. And yes, longer is better. Turtles appreciate the extra surface area for swimming.>
It had a nice castle-like basking spot and some gravel(I removed the tinier ones so she wouldn't eat them) I eventually bought a thermostat and a filter ( please consider I'm an unemployed teenager before you preach)
<I understand and realize you got him as a gift. If you think you might want to get another though, I’d hold off until you can afford to get everything you need. Except for my questions about the 1st 3 months, what you say you have here so far is good. You didn't mention the types of lights you have, basking temperature, and how often you change the water. These are important aspects of set-up and care also.>
<In particular with the lighting, turtles need BOTH a heat lamp and a UVB light placed directly above their basking spot. It’s also important to make sure that their basking temperature under the lights is around 31-32 C; or 88-90 F. They need both of these lights and this amount of heat in order to properly digest their food and absorb nutrients.>
I kept the water at 28C
<Equivalent to 82.4 F – too warm! Did he get out of the water and bask every day? Often when the water is this warm, they don’t get out to bask because mostly what drives them out of the water to bask is the need/desire to warm up.>
<You want the water on the cool side (only around 20 C or 68 F) – no matter whether the turtles are young or old. I know this may be contrary to what you may have seen on other sites, but they’re wrong! Turtles depend on their outside environment to regulate their internal functioning, so they need to be given a clear choice between cool water and warm dry land. >
as read in this site(excellent site, by the way)
<Thanks; glad to here!  However, I’m not sure where you might have seen a recommendation for water this warm on our site.  Darrel and I reply to mostly all the turtle queries and we always recommend cool water.>
and fed her pellets(again consider my age and unemployment) once a day, I used to do it twice a day but she started shedding and pyramiding so I changed it.
<Yes, those are signs of over-feeding. I’m glad you recognized that and changed it; less is more when it comes to feeding turtles.>
She never had any of the symptoms you describe here, no bubbles no swelling no nothing she was perfectly fine. I buried her a few hours ago, after some weeping.
<I’m so sorry, Lana. It’s such an awful feeling when we lose our beloved pets.>
In the morning she was sleeping in the castle thing, woke and ate, before I left she was swimming around quite contented so I already ruled out electrocution. My mom says she saw her spinning in a corner before swimming against the current of the filter (she enjoyed that) she assumed the poor thing had gone mad and left the room, later she went back in and found her upside down, freaked out and  turned her around.
<When your mom found her upside down, was her head under water? And if her whole body was in the water, was it too shallow for her to be able to turn over on her own? How deep was the water? >
When I got home, like three hours after that, she was still alive and just chilling in the water, I left to do stuff. Halfway through my stuff-doing I went to check on her just for the sake of it and found her in the same position, didn't think anything of it and left to continue my stuff. So my stuff is done and I go check on her again, still the same. Do I freak out too and start searching on the Internet how to know if a turtle is dead. All things matched: eyes open, extremities and head completely out of the shell, stillness, all that stuff. I of course was near hysterics by then, got the out of the water and poked her with a straw. Nothing. I poked her again and still nothing so I started stretching her legs to see if he responded but she didn't, I poked her eye, no movement, so i flipped her and a lot of water started outing out of her nose! So I waited until the water was all gone be tried to open her mouth to see if there was still more water there(it's really hard to open a turtle's mouth by the way) I was unsuccessful. So there was my tiny turtle all floppy and limp.
<I’m sure your heart sank as mine would have as well.>
I read somewhere I should try to warm her so I switched on her lamp and left he there for like half an hour or so and researched more meanwhile. So the turtle is still unmoving but totally dry and I am freaking out and stuff. I pronounced her dead after poking and shaking her for a while and trying to a listen for a heartbeat or breathing with a stethoscope. I buried her in the front yard. So, after all that, could you tell me what caused her death?
<It’s really hard for me to say for sure, Lana. One possibility is that she got enough water trapped in her lungs from the time she flipped over (assuming her head was in the water when your mom found her upside down) that it may have robbed her of enough oxygen that she eventually died.>
<It’s also possible that she had a longstanding, worsening, chronic systemic infection and just wasn’t showing any obvious outward signs yet. Turtles are also notoriously good at hiding their illness. This is one of their survival techniques in the wild. They don’t want predators to see them ill and vulnerable. Because of this, they often appear completely normal right up to the end when in reality, they’d been sick for months.>
<If she did die from illness rather than from drowning, it’s possible she might have started becoming ill in those first few months you had her in the large bowl. If turtles remain in water for extended periods of time with no access to dry heat or UVB, the food can rot in their stomach and eventually over time lead to a systemic infection. In fact, this is how almost all the “dime store” turtles died that were so popular back in the 1960’s. They were kept in bowls of water 24-7 and rarely lived more than just a few months.>
Or did I do something wrong?
<Without knowing the exact cause, it’s hard for me to say for sure. But what you wrote about her care and environment (both initially and now) raises enough questions in my mind that I can’t rule it out. >
<If you think she could have drowned, my questions would be related to whether the water was too shallow to allow her right herself if she flipped over by accident in the water; or whether there were any objects in the water that could have caused her to become trapped under the water for too long.>
<If drowning or injury didn’t cause her death, almost all turtle illnesses and deaths occur because of something amiss in their diet, environment, or care. In your case, it would be important to know how often she basked, more specifics about UVB lighting/heat/basking temperature; and water quality/water changes (in both the old and new set-ups). >
Thanks in advance.
<You’re welcome, Lana. Again I’m so sorry for your loss. The death of our pets is something we all dread. It’s good that you’re trying to figure out what may have happened, especially if you think you may get another turtle at some point in the future. Just in case you think you might, I’m also going to give you a link to our general care guide:
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm >
<Compare your set-up and care to what’s in this article to make sure you have everything you need if/when you should decide to get another one. If you can’t afford any other necessary items right now, just hold off buying a turtle until you can get what you need. It’s no guarantee he’ll never get sick, but it will at least help tip the scales in your favor! I’m also going to pass thing along to Darrel on our crew to see if he has any additional insights that might help you. >
Lana O.
Hi Darrel - Just copying you in on my reply to Lana in case you want to email her with any other thoughts, insights on what could have caused her turtle to die.  ~ Sue
Re: Cause of death?    11/23/12
Hey Sue, thanks for replying so fast!
For the three initial months he had a heat lamp and a dry spot to bask, yes. I changed the water daily because I figured if I wouldn't like spending a lot of time in dirty water, neither would my turtle. With the bigger tank I changed the water once a week and managed to get an uv light from my sister's ex-boyfriend, it wasn't on all the time but I did make sure she got at least four hours of uv light everyday. And now I that I made a mistake when converting the temperature for the water, yes she got out everyday to bask and sometimes would sleep out of the water(it drove my mom nuts, she thought the turtle had died).
I assume she drowned because my mom found her in the shallow end of the tank, where I had made a sort of ramp with the gavel to the basking spot; the water there wasn't very deep maybe about an inch high. I also think it might be that she was sick long before, the conditions they are kept in the store wee my friend bought the turtle aren't ideal.
Thanks for your time.
<You’re welcome, Lana. Yes, unfortunately store conditions are often subpar and it’s true many turtles are already sick by the time you purchase them.  I’m also glad to see you provided your turtle with a heat lamp, dry basking spot and clean water. However, from what you said above, just a few things to caution you to put in place should you decide to get another turtle – >
<Make sure the basking heat is in the temperature range I mentioned earlier.>
<You didn’t mention UVB above, only UV. The bulb must be UVB specifically. Many store bought lamps that say “basking lamps” are not UVB and not meant for turtles but other reptiles. Turtles must have UVB specifically in addition to heat in order to properly process the nutrients from their food – otherwise they can and will become sick.>
<4 hours of artificial UVB light is not enough. It needs to be on for 12 hours a day.>
<Try to find a “floating dock” for basking if you can so you don’t need to worry about shallow water. Zoo Med makes a fairly sturdy one that uses suction cups and it comes in several sizes. Petmountain.com is a good source that sells supplies for less than you might find elsewhere. They also sell ReptiSun UVB strip lights. >
<If you don’t want to use a floating dock, you can alternatively place fake plants next to whatever “land” you’re using. Turtles can then use the plants to climb up to the land (they’re surprisingly good climbers!)>
Lana O.
Cause of death?     12/10/12
Hi!
<Hiya - Darrel here>
I was wondering if you could give me some peace of mind.
<We'll try>
Last April a friend gave me a Baby RES (sold legally in my country... I think) as a present, I kept it in a big bowl with water for a while until I had saved enough money to buy a proper tank (about three months). The tank I bought is maybe 20 gallons, longer than taller. It had a nice castle-like basking spot and some gravel (I removed the tinier ones so she wouldn't eat them) I eventually bought a thermostat and a filter ( please consider I'm an unemployed teenager before you preach) I kept the water at 28C as read in this site (excellent site, by the way) and fed her pellets (again consider my age and unemployment) once a day, I used to do it twice a day but she started shedding and pyramiding so I changed it.
<Sounds like you’re doing fine so far.  I've kept MANY a small turtle in a tank without a filter - it just means changing the water more often - and I never use a heater.  Ever.>
She never had any of he symptoms you describe here, no bubbles no swelling no nothing she was perfectly fine. I buried her a few hours ago, after some weeping. In the morning she was sleeping in the castle thing, woke and ate, before I left she was swimming around quite contented so I already ruled out electrocution. My mom says she saw her spinning in a corner before swimming against the current of he filter (she enjoyed that) she assumed the poor thing had gone mad and left the room, later she went back in and found her upside down, freaked out and  turned her around. When I got home, like three hours after that, she was still alive and just chilling in the water, I left to do stuff. Halfway through my stuff-doing I went to check on her just for the sake of it and found her in the same position, didn't think anything of it and left to continue my stuff. So my stuff is done and I go check on her again, still the same. Do I freak out too and start searching on the Internet how to know if a turtle is dead. All things matched: eyes open, extremities and head completely out of the shell, stillness, all that stuff. I of course was near hysterics by then, got the out of the water and poked her with a straw. Nothing. I poked her again and still nothing so I started stretching her legs to see if he responded but she didn't, I poked her eye, no movement, so i flipped her and a lot of water started outing out of her nose! So I waited until the water was all gone be tried to open her mouth to see if there was still more water there(it's really hard to open a turtle's mouth by the way) I was unsuccessful. So there was my tiny turtle all floppy and limp. I read somewhere I should try to warm her so I switched on her lamp and left he there for like half an hour or so and researched more meanwhile. So the turtle is still unmoving but totally dry and I am freaking out and stuff. I pronounced her dead after poking and shaking her for a while and trying to a listen for a heartbeat or breathing with a stethoscope. I buried her in the front yard. So, after all that, could you tell me what caused her death? Or did I do something wrong?
<On behalf of Bob, Neale, Sue and the entire crew, we're sorry for your loss, Lana.  The loss of even the least of us affects us all.>
<From what you describe, it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong at all.  It sounds like the little one simply drowned.   Now it could have been caught in the current somehow, but the vigorous swimming you describe it seems she could easily swim out or duck under it.>
<In another response, Sue covered the possibilities quite well and there is nothing really to add, except to say that I don’t think that it was anything you did or didn't do.  Sometimes, even with the best of care, our little pets just don't thrive.>
Thanks in advance.
Lana O.
<I sincerely hope that you see your way clear to get a pair of baby Sliders in the future and have the chance to experience the pleasure they can bring>

Baby res; see through eyelids? - 10/31/2012
Hi, I have a baby red eared slider that I bought in the street a couple of weeks ago. He is about 1-2 inches big. He is in a small tank with some gravel. I tried to feed him some pellets and lettuce but he hasn't touched them. Other than not eating he has been active and moving around. However, the past couple of days he's been sleeping. I think he may be hibernating but I'm not sure nor am I sure if he is in an adequate environment to be hibernating. Although he is an indoor turtle, it has gotten colder due to Hurricane Sandy. I can clearly see his eyelids are closed but the weird thing is I can see through his eyelids and see his actual eye. I can even see his eye moving around sometimes with his eyelid closed. His eye that I can see behind his eyelid seems to close again when I assume he is actually sleeping. I've moved him around to make sure he can still open his eyes and he can. His eyes do not seem to be swollen. So what I want to know is my turtle going to be ok? Is this normal with his eye situation?
<Hmm… can you start by reading here:
www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/turteyedisart.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/RESCareBarton.htm
Eye problems are very common when turtles aren't kept properly. Classically, the eye appears to be closed all the time because the eyelids have become swollen. For sure a trip to the vet is necessary. More than likely the vet will provide the turtle with a vitamin injection and will then give you some tips on better care. It's a cheap, quick fix at this stage, but left alone, the underlying problem will become serious, eventually fatal. Hope you're able to help this chap before it's too late, Neale.>

Baby red-eared slider problems - 10/28/2012
My baby, one inch red eared slider has been staying in a small, cave area of his 10 gallon tank, hasn't been basking at all, and has a very low activity level.
<Lethargy is one of the most common indicators that turtles aren’t feeling well.>
He's also been pooping a whole lot. We feed him mealworms and shrimp
<Would not give him either; substitute earthworms instead, a healthier treat – just a couple every few weeks.>
 - he won't eat the pellets we give him even though we've tried three types, and he won't eat greens or cranberries.
<No cranberries. If he’s refusing the pellets, you need to just stick with it – eventually when he gets hungry enough he’ll come around. Once you stop feeding him all the other foods you’ve mentioned, that should increase his hunger enough to the point where he will accept the pellets. And once he does accept them, keep in mind you should only be offering them to him every other day, and only as much as he can eat in 5 minutes or so, then discard any that are uneaten.  It’s important not to overfeed him because that can lead to illness.>
I'm very worried, but other than changing his water I don't know what to do. Is he sick, or is this normal?
<It does sound like he may not be feeling well. I always tell people it’s better to err on the side of caution. The best initial thing you can do for a turtle that’s not feeling well is to remove him from a "water" environment – that actually works against him when he’s sick. I’m going to give you a link below that describes how to “Dry-Dock” him – read the section under “Isolation and Dry-Dock”, follow the instructions, and write us back with any questions  -
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/treating%20RES%20Dis%20DarrelB.htm  >
<The most important things with dry docking are to provide him a source of heat, a source of UVB, and access to fresh water for a short time each day.>
<I’m also going to give you a link to our basic care guide. Most all illnesses come down to something not right in their diet, their environment, or their care. Compare what you’re providing to what the article is recommending, and make whatever changes are necessary. Absolutely essential to do everything mentioned in this care article -
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm>
<Hope this helps and he feels better soon! Feel free to write us again if you have any other questions or concerns. ~ Sue >
--
Gabrielle

I'm worried about my baby RES and confused, please help!     5/26/12
Hello there.
<Hiya - Darrel here>
I have a 1" baby Red Eared Slider turtle which used to live in a big, wide, round plastic container/'bowl' (its diameter is around 40 cm, btw, and the height is around 17 cm) with enough water to fill half of the bowl.
<With a basking area and a heat lamp?>
Around two weeks ago on Saturday, 12 May 2012, this tiny baby started swimming lopsided, and lost his appetite the next morning. Because he's my first baby RES, I became very worried almost instantly, and then I search around the internet to find out what it's mean. All the sites I came around said that lopsided swimming is a sign of RI, and will cause death if the turtle is left untreated. Since I didn't have the time to pay a visit to a vet at that time, I tried to bump the enclosure temperature a bit. Since I don't have a heater, I put him under 11W energy saving lamp (which said that it's equal to 60W ordinary bulb on its package), placed around 10 cm above his head, and used lukewarm spring water to fill his bowl.
<The problem is that the energy saver lamps put out very little heat.>
A few days later on Wednesday, he started to sneeze. Fortunately, I finally had the opportunity to bring him to a vet. The vet (not a herp vet anyway, since herp vet is extremely rare in my country) said that the RES just caught a cold. I asked for a shot, but the vet refused, she said the baby is too small for a shot, and advised me to mix some antibiotics to its water and food instead. As the vet suggested, I used cotrimoxazole (trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole). I mixed around 30 mg cotrimoxazole to his water, which I keep shallow as my dad suggested, and mixed around the same amount of medicine to his food. Before he's sick, I used veggies for his food, but now I used fish pellets instead, rolled in the medicine before I feed it to my little turtle. I also let him bask under direct sunlight every morning for around 30 minutes.
<The sunlight will help.  NOTHING is as good as natural sunlight!! But keep him warm and DRY while recovering from a cold>
At first, he kept missing his food, and only able to eat 1-2 pellets at the most, but a few days later he started to eat more. On Monday, 21 May 2012, the little turtle seemed to improve. He ate fairly well and when I let him walk around, he seemed to be having no problem at all -- in fact he managed to hide between closely placed cardboard boxes nearby in rather short time. The next day, he still seemed to be somewhat fine. Ate nicely, though is somewhat less than the day before, and looked alright when walking around.
<Those are early signs of a recovery>
However, I'm still a bit worried, because apparently he's still swimming a bit lopsided, though not at all times. He doesn't swim too much, anyway, just now and then since he spends a lot of his time basking under his lamp, but every time he started swimming, he's a bit lopsided for a moment before he corrected himself (though not 100% correct). And, since Tuesday, he open his mouth a couple times in a row in the morning as if he's yawning (open mouth for a few seconds, then close, then open it again, close again, a few times before he finally stopped). He doesn't 'yawn' at the other times of the day, though. On Wednesday night (last night before I write this), he made a croaking noise as if he's coughing. It happened only once, though, but after that, he 'yawns' a couple of times before he went back to sleep. He also 'yawns' again this morning after eating. By noon, the little fellow seemed to be fine under his lamp. I wanted to take him back to the vet for a check-up, but my mom said that I don't need to. She said that the turtle will be fine, but.. I'll admit I'm greatly worried. Is my turtle fine? If not, what should I do? Should I bring him to the vet again? I don't want him to die anytime soon -- to the extent that I want to cancel my holiday trip next month because I'm afraid my aunt would not be able to take care of the little baby (I think about taking him with me during vacation, but apparently the hotel won't allow pets :( poor me and little turtle).
<He should be easy to take care of for the duration of a holiday >
Oh, anyway, the weather is a bit strange here these few days. It's sunny, but also windy... I keep the turtle fairly far from the window, though, and used some cardboard pieces to cover his enclosure, except for the area around its lamp.   I'm really confused, so... I really need advice. Thank you for your help.
Regards,
Dian
P.S. Sorry for my bad English grammar, if there's any. :)
<Your grammar is fine, Dian.>
<Little turtle has probably gotten a respiratory infection from improper care.  Fortunately it's easy to cure when caught early and even easier to prevent in the future.>
<To start with, Little Turtle needs to be warm and DRY while recovering - and recovering will take at least 4 weeks more.   In the following article you will read how to "dry dock" a turtle while treating for a possible infection.   He gets a bath 5 to 10 minutes a day in order to drink, poop and eat … then back in the warm dry isolation.  A key part of the isolation is a UV-B lamp.  There are lamps available that are both heat AND UV-B and that makes it convenient.  Otherwise you need a UV-B florescent and a separate basking lamp.  The basking lamp can be a plain, ordinary incandescent bulb - because it's job is just to offer heat.   Please read this: http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/treating%20RES%20Dis%20DarrelB.htm  >
<This article covers the basic care needed and discusses a bit about WHY everything is needed.  Read it and compare Turtle's care and housing against the recommendations.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm >
Re: I'm worried about my baby RES and confused, please help! (Attn: Darrel)     5/30/12
Uh, hi again, Darrel!
<Hiya>
I hope you don't mind me asking questions again so fast.
<No problem>
This morning I saw bubbles comes out from my baby turtle's nose and mouth when he's basking under the sun. I've never seen him blowing bubbles outside of the water before, so... Is this a sign that his illness get worse, or is this pretty normal because of the weather?
<It's not a good sign, but it IS a sign of the respiratory infection that we know that he has>
Because, it was sunny when I let him bask under the sun, but approximately half an hour later the wind suddenly blows really hard (the weather here is pretty unpredictable) and I have to take him back to his quarantine tank, and this is where I saw the bubbles. It goes away totally when I wipe the baby's mouth with a cotton swab, though, and I don't see the bubbles comes out again so far.
<Keep treating him>
If you were wondering, he still eats nicely.
<That is a VERY good sign>
I'm currently trying to dry-dock Little Seb (it's the name of the little turtle, btw) as you suggested. So far he seems pretty happy, even though I still haven't got UV-B lamp for him, and have to put him under 5W incandescent bulb that I bought this morning. I'll try to find a UV-B lamp (again) and a better incandescent lamp (if needed) tomorrow...
<Keep exposing him to natural sunlight, a healthy diet and warmth>
Hopefully I'll be lucky.
<We're all hoping that>
Re: I'm worried about my baby RES and confused, please help! (Attn: Darrel)      6/3/12
Hiya!
<Hi again>
Little Seb doesn't make bubbles out of water anymore, but since Monday morning, he began making small noises (like, uh, squeaks?) every time he opens his mouth, like he's having trouble breathing. He won't eat anything I offered him, too.
<That is common in respiratory infections>
On Tuesday afternoon, as he seems to get worse (more 'yawning' or should I say 'open mouth breathing'?), I brought him to another vet, who seems to understand about turtles a little bit more. She gave Little Seb antibiotics, and advised me to give the baby the medicine in syrup or suspension instead of mixing it into the food, plus vitamin. She asked me to see if the pet shop here sells any vitamin for turtles, but apparently no one sells it, so I used human baby vitamin instead (current vet says it's ok). <I agree>
Today my baby still refused to eat, sleeps a lot, and still does 'open mouth breathing' every time he wakes up. However, it seems the open mouth breathing is getting slightly less frequent than the days before. Is this good?
<Yes>
Anyway, will it be okay if I take my baby RES outside when it's sunny but also slightly windy?
<Yes.  Just don't leave him unattended>
Since Saturday morning (after I emailed you), it's almost always windy here, even though the sun is shining brightly, so it's hard to find the right time to get some sun for the baby. The wind can comes anytime (and sometimes it's really big), so I'm pretty much afraid.
<The main concern, besides getting lost or attacked by an animal, is that they can easily OVER heat.   When I have a baby in direct sunlight I make sure there is a shaded place he can crawl to>
And... When dry docking turtles, should I keep the lamp on during nighttime, or turn it off? He's in a large enough cardboard box with a towel to make the bottom soft, by the way.
<You should turn it off at night>
=========
UPDATE:
Hello again.
<Hiya - Darrel here>
I've been dry docking my little RES turtle for several days right now, but these two days I noticed that he just sleeps almost all the time. Already keep him warm (temp. is around 33-35 Celsius inside the box), but he just keep sleeping (sometimes under the towel I put inside his isolation box).
<The heat is necessary to help speed up his metabolism, but it's an unfamiliar and unnatural surrounding to him.  Usually, after they explore enough to find no escape, they do settle down and rest or sleep a lot.  
Unfortunately, this is necessary for treating him.  Hopefully the antibiotics are working>
Also, yesterday he's eating, though not much. Today he refuses to eat again.  What should I do?
<You can give him a little more time in the water.   Place him in the shallow bowl (or even a bowl with a bit deeper "swimming" water and give him 15 minutes or so to come fully awake, a bit more active and then offer some food.   You might also offer a tiny (very tiny) piece of chicken liver:  It's filling with iron and vitamins and often times will stimulate an appetite.>
Thanks,
Dian