4488. VET CASE STUDY. 3-year-old red-eared slider weighs less than 300 g. Why?

VET CASE STUDY:
A 3-year-old red-eared slider has an EATING DISORDER. Part 1/3.
Toa Payoh Vets - March 2025 HISTORY OF CONSULTATIONS

In 2025, at the age of 3 years, he weighed around 200g when his sibling weighed 1300 g. He was stunted and emaciated. Why?

Three years ago, on 27 January 2022, the owner consulted me as her juvenile male red-eared slider. His shell length was less than 3 cm and weighing 15 g. This shell length and weight were within the normal ranges.  At this time, he had swollen eyes and no appetite. However, he recovered after treatment with medication. 

The owner provided the two siblings a proper glass tank, UV lights, basking platform area, water filter and clean water. He shared this tank with a sibling.

From 2022 - 2025, he was fed in his own tank. But he ate little as evident by his shell length and weight of around 200 g at 3 years of age in 2025. The owner did not consult any vet although this stunted red-eared slider had an EATING DISORDER.

On 13 JANUARY 2025, the owner consulted me at Toa Payoh Vets. The slider weighed 215 g and had no poor appetite. Why is this 3-year-old red-eared slider emaciated and stunted?

DEFINITIONS:

1. EMACIATED:abnormally thin or weak, especially because of illness or a lack of food.

2. STUNTED:prevented from growing or developing to the usual size. For example, a slider with stunted growth.

3. NORMAL RED-EARED SLIDERS: Shell length and weight within the range as expected in the age group. They are active and eating. They show some fatty tissues under the skin between their neck and shoulder.

 “Your red-eared slider is going to die if he continues to eat nothing,” I said to the owner on 10th March 2025.

END OF PART 1/3 discussed the history of the vet case.
Part 2/3 will discuss the diagnosis.
Part 3/3 will discuss the treatment.

More educational videos are at:
https://www.youtube.com/c/99pups

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2025/03/4488-3-year-old-red-eared-slider-weighs.html

End of Part 1/3

Thank you for watching.

---------------------------------------------------------------

DRAFT SCRIPT.
PART 2/3 AND 3/3. DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENT.

1. On 27 January 2022, the owner consulted me as her juvenile male red-eared slider with shell length less than 3 cm and weighing 15 g, had swollen eyes and no appetite. He was treated with medication. He had a proper glass tank, UV lights, basking platform area, water filter and clean water. He shared this tank with a sibling.

The owner did not consult any vet from 2022 to 2025.


2. On 13 January 2025, the slider had no poor appetite. He weighed 215 g while his sibling weighs 1.3kg. The owner was taught to syringe fed him with crushed pelleted feed patiently and took several hours. He now refused to eat the pieces of chicken. The owner used a small plastic spoon to hand feed him but it took several hours per day as he would not open his mouth. Hence it was very time-consuming.

3. On 21 January 2025, he weighed  222 g but had no appetite. He pooped some brown stools on the towel indicating he had some feed. However, he did sneeze food from his nostrils. 

4. On 5 March 2025, he weighed 204 g and had no appetite. He was lethargic, would not move and stayed floating inside the water. What to do? 5

On 7 March 2025, at 5.31pm, he passed away.

CAUSE OF DEATH:
Autopsy would be needed to determine the cause of death.
It was not done. The slider was emaciated and stunted as he did not grow to the expected shell length as his sibling.

Possible causes of the eating disorder which made the 3-year-old slider weigh less than 300 g instead of 1.3 kg are several including genetics. One external cause could be the addition of blue chlorine drug into the water to remove the chlorine in the water. It could cause long-term poisoning.

However, the bigger sibling weighing 1.3 kg was not affected.

UPDATES AT:
https://2010vets.blogspot.com/2025/03/4488-3-year-old-red-eared-slider-weighs.html

----------------------------------------------------------------------

 

RECOMMENDED TREATMENT PROCEDURES FROM DR SING ON 5 MAR 2025 .

1) Isolate sick from healthy animals all the time.
(The 3-year-old sick slider weighs less than 300 g while its sibling weighs 1.3 kg.)   

2) UV light switch off - too close - cannot shine on eyes  

3) feed 5x a day. (Slider refused to open his mouth, so owner spent several hours feeding it via a small spoon when he opened his mouth after a long time. He did pass a bit of brown stools after such hand feeding).  

4) To use a water heater, set temperature at 30 deg C. Put Tee in water up to half hour each time 3x a day   

5)  do not put anti-chlorine drug in the water tank (as had been done in the past 2 years). 

6) filter must washed properly (using the water changed out from the tank)   

7) steps to platform too steep - need 35% gradual slope (Slider floats and barely move inside the water, see video. He does not walk on land.) 

8)  Tank hygiene overall must be good   

9)  Remove all tank decorations  

10) every 3 days change water (put tap water in clean bucket over night to let water settle) each time retain 1/3 water in tank)   

11) teach daughter / friend how to feed slider when owner goes overseas soon. 

12) cannot feed chicken meat as he cannot digest now   

13)  Medication :  Antibiotics 2x a day + Eyedrops 3x a day +  Multivits add into Critical Care  

14)  Keep a timetable record of procedures done.

6 March Thursday

10.30 am
- eye drops
- antibiotics
- critical care

4 pm
- eye drops

9 pm
- Mazuri x 10 pellets
- critical care
- multivitamins

11 pm
- antibiotics
- eye drops

*1st day new water
*Under UV light around 4 hours
*Water 15 min
*Water heater not working (just purchased yesterday, needed to change to a good one).

 

****
Moving ahead things to improve:

-UV light does not shine on eyes (but can let bask for several hours in between put in water for short sessions of 10 min to 30 min)

-Water heater to change to smaller one (get from Parkway Parade) set to 31 degrees

-Filter to get quieter new one from Parkway Parade

7 March Friday

10.30 am
- eye drops
- antibiotics
- critical care (tried feeding 2 scoops CC + 6 water but balance some - will let him rest and feed him again and hour later)

- now putting Terra under lamp (low light) to give him some heat first.

* Going to exchange old Heater to smaller Heater at Parkway Parade Pet lovers Centre .. there have stock.  Maybe buy a new filter also which is quieter - the current white one got machine sound)

Tee passed away at 5.31pm.

Please accept my condolences. You had done more for Tee than anyone in this world. Please take care of your health