General Care Discussion :: Need HELP...baby turtles died

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2022 3:12 pm   Need HELP...baby turtles died

I was hoping someone could help me. I've had this tank set up for a few months now and I've had 2 hatchling baby snapping turtles in that time pass away on me. I can't figure it out. I have 2 canister filters and I replace a good amount of the water daily (due to evaporation) so I wouldn't think it's a water quality issue. I also have a few guppies and a snail in the tank that are doing just fine. I have UV and regular lighting and everything is generally very clean and stable in the tank. HOWEVER...I've had 2 baby snappers die in there! The most recent looked super healthy, ate great, and was active until the last day. Then he got all lethargic and hid in the back of the tank until he died. One thing they both shared was that they seemed to be shedding their skin when they passed. They both had pieces of skin falling off, which I thought was normal (didn't look fungal), but maybe its a sign of something else?

I ordered some new water test kits since mine were expired. The last reading I took said the nitrates were high, but I'm not sure if I can trust the old strip tests I had. I don't understand how the nitrates would get that high since I'm replacing/adding water so often. When I do replace water, I use conditioner and if I do a massive tank cleaning I add safestart too. Bacteria cultures seem to be OK, or else the fish would be dying too, right?

The only other thing I can think of is the "lucky bamboo" I have in there. I just read that it could be toxic if ingested, so does anyone have an opinion or experience with that? I'm definitely removing it, but it would be nice to pinpoint the problem here in my tank so I don't have any more baby turtles die on me.

Pics of tank included here. Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide. Cheers!
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JRH4
 
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 05, 2022 7:53 pm   Re: Need HELP...baby turtles died

Sorry to hear about your losses. I don't know specifically about snappers shedding skin, though when RES do it, it should be thin and wispy... almost translucent. Snappers like to hide, and being a hatchling in a new environment can be extremely stressful. I don't know what were the temperatures you were maintaining but that is also a crucial factor when raising hatchlings. So more water and privacy are required for that tank in the picture. Does the tank get any sunlight? What was their diet like? How often were they handled?
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2022 2:07 pm   Re: Need HELP...baby turtles died

Thanks for responding Steve! Tank temp is constant 79, maybe fluctuates a little when I add water. It seems to evaporate quickly so I'm probably adding like 1/3-1/2 gallon of dechlorinated room temp water a day. There's also some decent hiding spots in the back of the set up you see. We didn't really handle either of them, just let them adjust and get comfortable.

I'm starting to wonder if something was wrong from the breeder because I got 2 baby snappers from them in a month and now they're "out of stock". The first one I got seemed sickly from the start, but the second one was lively and had a lot of personality. He was chasing fish, basking, and trying to climb up the filters until the day he died. He was not shy, but those last few hours he just hid in the back of the tank and passed away. That's also where the lucky bamboo is, coincidentally, so I'm thinking that could have had something to do with it. He may have bit off a piece of root and it was toxic. But that still doesn't explain why both babies that went into this tank started "shedding" excessively. Hard to pinpoint what the problem is because like I said I have some guppies (with babies) and a snail in there that are doing just fine. Even if the nitrates were high in the water I don't see how that would have killed the turtles.

At this point I'm committed to trying one more time because this was my daughters 3rd birthday gift and I really want to succeed. She thinks her little friend has been "sleeping" for the past few days. It's pretty heartbreaking. So I made some changes to the tank, took out the bamboo, and changed the water. I'm going to test the conditions over the next few days to make sure they're AOK and then hopefully introduce a new baby snapper (from a different breeder) this week.

If you have ANY advice it's much appreciated. Cheers!
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2022 6:48 pm   Re: Need HELP...baby turtles died

I just realized I didn't answer a few of your other questions. Yes, the tank does get some sunlight. And the first one that perished barely ate. The only thing we could ever get him to eat was bloodworms, and I tried like everything. I wasn't terribly surprised when that one died. But the second one ate just about everything. He took out a few baby guppies, pellets, crickets, bloodworms, live redworms, and dried shrimp and cranberry that are in a mix I got. He ate like a champ, so it made sense to me that he might be growing and shedding. But then he suddenly died too.
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 06, 2022 8:34 pm   Re: Need HELP...baby turtles died

It's very possible there's something already wrong with them, or the other one passed something to the other. No way to know for certain, but snappers get so big, I'm not sure if they should be sold to begin with.

The reason I brought up the sunlight is that it can quickly heat up a small amount of water. I also don't think the lucky bamboo would have caused any issue... is it possible he got stuck in some of the decorations?
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Post Posted: Mon Mar 07, 2022 1:30 pm   Re: Need HELP...baby turtles died

They didn't get stuck anywhere (or drowned). The temp in the tank is pretty stable.
Other people have suggested it could definitely be the lucky bamboo so I'm surprised you say that. Either way, it's gone now.
And I have to disagree with you that snappers shouldn't be pets. They're super cool, and they're one of the few native species in my area so I would have no problem releasing it into the wild when it gets too big. But, to each their own.
Thanks for your feedback Steve!
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