Turtles (Emil?)

[Steve]

Question for anyone that has had a turtle (I know Email can help maybe) I bought my niece a red ear slider back in Feb. He was prob about 5" when I bought him, and he grew quick, was maybe 6-7" last month. He's been doing good, eating well, Niece keeps the water clean and has a filter all in his tank. She just called me crying saying he was dead First off that's not how I like to start my morning as an uncle. Secondly, I don't get why he would just die like that? This is actually the 2nd turtle that died on her on 2 yrs. Is there a reason or something I'm missing or? because he seemed perfectly fine right up till this morning from what she said.

[Sean]

What was it being fed? What kind of lighting? Pics of tank?

[Steve]

20g long, proper lighting I bought her that "Zilla" light that has the light which does his shell good etc etc. Food was just normal turtle pellets. My sister just called and said he actually was upside down and thinks he may have drown Which is weird because he only had one rock in the tank so I don't see how that could happen where he could flip himself.

[Steve]

Just hung up with her, she said he was upside down this morn dead. Is that something turtles can do? flip over and drown like that? I have never heard that before. Just breaks my heart my Niece is so upset

[linuxrulesusa]

Maybe look here.  Sorry, I've never kept turtles.  http://www.wetwebmedia.com/fwsubwebindex/resdisfaqs.htm

[Steve]

Thanks.

From what she said it sounds like he somehow managed to flip himself upside down and drown I guess. Never heard of a turtle doing that but that's what it sounds like.

[four_by_ken]

If it drown... it must have been wedged where he couldnt flip himself over. 

[Steve]

That's the weird thing, he only had one rock in the tank, so I don't see how that could have happened. But I dunno I guess anything can happen. I just feel sorry for her, she really loved him and is very upset this morning. She's still crying and not going to school today.

Ya know part of the perks of never getting married or having kids(ME) is not having to deal with these things. So why am I having to deal with her/this? 

I wish I could do something to make her feel better. Nothing I can do right now though, just part of life.

[Ron]

I fail to see any case in which a single rock in a tank would cause a turtle to die while upside down.

I had a turtle once when I was a kid for about 2 years. FWIW, I fed mine a turtle food and chopped up baitfish, about 50/50. One day I added some branches to the tank in the water for aquascaping and to give him more to climb on. I was told they were apple, but looking back they weren't. I'm not sure what they were. The next morning the turtle was dead. Not 100% sure the root reason, but it had to be something to do with the branches. Was any new decor added to the tank recently?

[Sean]

Most turtles and tortoises can't breathe when they're on their backs. I would suggest getting a turtle dock instead of keeping a rock in there, they are flat and a lot harder for a turtle to flip over on. He probably died because of being flipped over. I work at a pet store and hear this every once in a while.

[danielratti]

A big thing that kills is having something on your hands and then touching the animal or putting hands in the water. Its a tough call on what it could be I have to big turtles at the store I keep in a 150gallon rubbermaid. Could be anything really.

[lilscoots]

I'm sorry for your nieces loss,
I've no idea what killed this turtle, but a 20 long is no place for a 5" turtle, maybe a 1"-2" turtle for a while.  I also second getting a legitimate landing platform.

[Super Turtleman]

I was going to say it probably drowned...but can't explain how it ended up upside down without being able to right itself. A photo a la CSI would be very helpful.

That 20L is definitely too small for it long term.Was the water fairly shallow (maybe 2-3" deep)? If it flipped over in that it might've had a hard time flipping back. Seems to me the most likely scenario would be it flipping itself over and not being able to flip itself back.

When keeping a turtle, a good rule of thumb is to keep the water at least 50% deeper than the turtle's shell length. This will make it very difficult for a turtle to flip over and drown. Of course, if there are rocks, branches, etc where it can get "snagged" on, then it's likely it could drown.

Those foam floating turtle docks work great. Maybe if she'd like another, you could get her a 40B or 55 and set it up for her. I have a screen lid for a 55 I'd gladly give you if I can find a way to get t to you.

[Steve]

You guys won't believe this, this is great but REALLY weird. Timmy is alive My sister just called me and said this morning after she found him upside down with all his legs just hanging limp that she took him out to make sure he was dead and he was completely limp, so she put him in a box in the backyard until my brother in law got home from work so they could bury him next to the pond. Get this, she said they opened the box so she could see him one last time and when they did he was staring at them He's alive and back inside huddeled up next to his heater right now. My Niece was so happy she started crying again lol.

What the heck is going on though?? Has anyone ever heard of a turtle doing this where he's completely limp like that? because my sister says she swears he was dead.

As to the tank size I was mistaken about the 20l, that was actually a 29g, but even at that just last week I was talking to her about getting her a 40b for him. We'll make sure he's doing okay and if so then I'll look into getting a 40b for her.

[lilscoots]

My only thought is he got flipped upside down, couldn't right himself and passed out, meanwhile your sister got to him and righted him before he died and he eventually came to?