Urgent Care :: HELP! turtle can't swim and flips himself upside down

[kittstar77]

Hello! We just joined this forum because we need advice about our poor little turtle. We have a baby red ear slider, which drowned about 7 months ago. At that time he was given a course of antibiotics and we kept him dry docked in a very small tank for about 3 -4 weeks as recommended by the herpetologist.

When dry docked he didnt show signs of improving, and he would constantly climb the walls and flip himself over and over and over. Until we put a small amount of water in the bottom of the tank which seemed to calm him.

Eventually he seemed to show signs of recovery and he began to eat again. We bought him a large tank with a cave and docking area. He still is not able to swim straight when put in a depth of water that is appropriate for him. He will be fine for a few minutes but eventually start swimming in frantic circles and turn upside down.

So because of this, we keep very shallow water, about 2 inches deep, so that he can poke his head out of the water and walk in the water using his legs to keep him grounded.

However, every few weeks he flips himself over on one of his docks, and unable to recover on his own, drowns himself again. Eventually one of us finds him, flips him over, pulls on his legs and feet to get the water out, and he recovers and behaves normally, and is well for a few weeks, until it happens again.

We are wondering if anyone has ever experienced this, and if so, if your turtle was ever able to recover and swim like a normal "real" turtle. And if you have any advice. Any help would be so greatly appreciated. We just want our turtle to live a long and happy turtle life!! Thank you.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Can you post a picture of the set up? I'm trying to picture how he drowns himself when he flips himself over on the dock. I mean, technically the dock should be totally dry (not submerged).

It sounds to me like he never really ever got used to his environment to begin with.

Also, when he drowned the first time, did he get stuck somewhere in the tank where he couldn't get out (like between the dock & the wall of tank, or maybe between the filter & the wall of the tank). The babies will often press themselves into tight places in order to "hide" from the gigantic human being ("you") coming at them. They are too young to understand that you are their caretaker & it takes them several years of growing before they learn that you are not the enemy.

FYI - dry docking is ok for short periods of time. But RES babies panic when they are not in the water because they feel very exposed & vulnerable. That's why he was climbing the walls & flipping over and over.....it's not that he was trying to kill himself, he was trying to get out of the container because he knows that fundamentally he should be in water, not dry docked like that. Its just their animal instincts.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Lastly, FYI: you don't need to post your question in several places on this board. There are enough Mods & Senior Members who read/answer questions daily. That's why the Mods locked your other copy of your post in the General Care area.

[megcornell]

How deep is the water? Water becomes a hazard when it's so shallow that the turtle can flip itself but doesn't have enough room to correct himself and come back up head first.

[mikee]

kittstar77 -- When you said that you dry docked him for 3 to 4 weeks; was he out of water for that long? Also when you say drowned, do you mean he died or was near death? What? I have had hatchlings to flip over and not able to turn themselves back over when they are on a sharp incline. The older ones adapt and have no trouble with it. I am thinking that this turtle is sick and if very weak and does not have the strength to turn himself over. It may be vet time???

[marisa]

His constantly trying to get out of the container when he was being dry-docked sounds like he was stressed (was the container a clear one?).

The minimum amount of water a turtle should have in order to be able to right himself is a bit more than the length of his shell. I would think the 2-inch depth you had him in, if he's really small, would have been enough for him to do that.

A healthy turtle should also be able to right himself on land (they use their heads to help push themselves over). It doesn't sound like yours has the strength to do that...

I'm curious---can he submerge himself, or does he just float? If he just floats, and you gently press him under water, does he pop up again like a cork?

When he flips himself over on on of the docks (how many does he have?) and almost drowns, do you mean he falls off the dock into the water? If so, is the top of the dock much higher than the water?

To me, it sounds like the repeated drownings (and getting water in the lungs) has possibly created a chronic lung problem and has weakened him (he also may have not been in good health to begin with).

What temps (water and basking area) are you keeping him at?

You might want to take him back to the herp vet who saw him (assuming you liked the vet) and have him reevaluated.