In case your little turtle is ill, it is very important for its water to be very clean, for its food to be appropriate and carefully chosen and for the temperature to be sufficiently high. The absence of any of these factors causes your pet to get sick. Even the most expensive available treatment is useless, unless the above mentioned conditions are met.

If the turtle's condition seems to worsen or the environmental changes bring no improvement, a veterinarian must be consulted. You may find an expert either in the yellow pages or at the animals hospital.

* Sneezing and gaping rarely

It is normal for turtles, as it is for humans to sneeze sometimes, because of the water that enters their nose and needs to be eliminated. In case of no mucus discharge and of isolated situations in which it sneezes, no problem seems to be present.

* Sneezing, gaping and coughing frequently

These symptoms should worry you, because they indicate pneumonia or any other respiratory problem. The veterinarian should be immediately seen, and he/she will prescribe antibiotics, will perform X-rays and will recommend you means to take proper care of your sick little friend. Pneumonia in turtles may be caused by water that is too cold. Try to warm it up and wait; in case you don't notice any improvement, see a specialist.

* Swelling of the eyes.

This symptom represents the first sign that announces an infection, possibly a bacterial one, generated by stress associated with a physical problem, such as scratches from another turtle or foreign substances that enter the eyes. Eye drops may not be sufficient, so you should take your little friend to the veterinarian and, in case the problem only affects the eyes, he will recommend drops of Gentocin. Even if this substance will significantly improve the symptoms, the source of the problem still needs to be discovered and eliminated. It will do much more harm than good to the little reptile to take excessive A vitamin. Never administer it under the form of injection, because this may even kill your turtle. Try some dietary supplements instead.

* Silver colored spots on the carapace

Silver colored spots are usually due to an air collection under the first layer, which will soon shed. It is perfectly normal for this to happen; however you should keep your turtle under observation, because algae may enter the layer and color the spots in green. In case this happens, try to remove the transparent layer with delicacy.

* Shading of the skin

From time to time, a skin exfoliation is perfectly normal. More over, turtles have an increased frequency of the process compared to other reptiles. In case the shading involves only thin transparent skin, leaves no lesions and is not happening in excess, there doesn't seem to be a problem. On the contrary, in case the peeling takes place all the time, the skin of the turtle turns red and sore, a fungus may be present. A veterinarian should examine it as soon as possible. Another possibility involves bathing your turtle in an idodine solution for 15 minutes two times a day then keeping it in a dry and worm environment for a while.