TURTLE EMERGENCY

[TheNeonPanther]

Hi everyone. My turtle has been acting weird.. I'm very worried!!!!! For about 2 weeks I have been feeding him bacon because I could not get the frozen brine shrimp blocks he normally gets because everyone was too darn lazy to go to the store. (I'm way too young to drive.) Today I tried to feed him the bacon he always accepts, but he ignored it! He has been also acting weird like trying to get out of the tank which he normally never does. After the food issue I took him out of the tank to see what was up. He started breathing out of his mouth. I put him back in and he breathed normally. He still acts tired and upset though... help!

 

[Allears]

Firstly, what kind of turtle do you have?
Any kind of processed food, or food high in salt or fat is bad for them, so the bacon probably not agreeing with him / her at all. Sometimes a little dog / cat food can substitute, but for a very short time as it is also usually fatty and very high in protein. If you have a slider, or box turtle you could try feeding some of the list below, but you need to give them a varied diet if you want to keep them long, healthy life.
Good quality proprietary foods (e.g., Reptomin) three times per week.
Plant leaf, aquatic plant and salad material, assorted (freely available).
Rehydrated low fat dried cat, dog and trout pellets - no more than once weekly for adults,
twice a week for juveniles)
Crickets and waxworm larvae (limited amounts, occasionally)
Earthworms (occasionally)
Tubifex and bloodworms (excellent for tempting hatchlings to begin feeding)
Small snails and mollusks (occasionally)

the bacon will mess up the water really fast so check the water quality in your tank...