I got this:
"A heater and a basking light aren't enough, you need a basking spotlight. The turtles went from an outdoor stock tank at my place (west-central FL just south of Tampa), with water temps in the low-80s, air temps in the upper-80s/lower-90s, and direct sunlight on the basking log probably reaching into at least the upper 90s. Had the turtle had conditions comparable to that upon arrival, I'm sure it would've made it.
This is what a good indoor tank should look like for the most part:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v73/c ... C05152.jpg
The spotlight is visible in the upper right-hand corner. The basking log provides hiding space beneath, and the plastic plants provide a structure to climb on and hide in. The feeder fish and crushed coral substrate are optional but beneficial.
If your water was warm enough, the turtle would not have spent all its time up on the rock sleeping. This is usually a stress response and indicative that the turtle is looking for a warm place to raise up its metabolism. But once it gets sick, they can decline rapidly and die. And yes, it absolutely can happen in just a day or two.
Whether a turtle is feeding or not is the best available indicator for the animal's health. The turtle was fed and ate the night before I packed and shipped it, and it ate once it arrived at your place. It's eyes were clear and bright, it was active and alert, it didn't float or swim sideways, nor did it gape or blow bubbles from its nose or mouth. It gave all the appearances of being perfectly healthy, you said so yourself. What indicators are you using now, after the fact, to diagnose it as unhealthy upon arrival?
After the unavoidable stress of shipping, the turtles need to de-stress and get their metabolisms revved back up. Adequate temps and a good basking spotlight are necessary to promote it. Without this, the emolli declined and died. Just because the venusta survived doesn't mean the emolli was sick. You can take two people and put them in a stressful situation and one will get sick while the other does not. It doesn't necessarily mean that one person is healthier than the other, just that one is more susceptible to stress. I'd say this was the case with those two turtles.
I don't really have the time or inclination to continue to argue the point with you. Feel free to discuss the matter on the forum if I can't convince you. There is a virtually infinite resource of experienced keepers on there, and I'm confident that they'll tell you the same thing. Next year when more emolli hatch out, I'll still let you know and maybe then you can try again. In the meantime, learn from this and move forward.
Paul"
Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2008 12:05 am 
