Sudden 23 year old RES death -Devastated & need some answers
Posted: Wed Aug 09, 2023 8:59 pmHi everyone, as the title says, I shockingly found my beautiful 23-year-old male red-eared slider dead at the bottom of his tank today. I'm devastated since I've cared for him since I was around 7 or 8 years old, and I'm now 30. He has literally ALWAYS been there, and i never thought he would be the first one to go. I've always imagined him to be around until i was like 50 or so. I'm not sure of his exact age when I rescued him in from a classmate at school, so I assume he must have been 1-2 at that time (he was tinnyy, just bigger than a size of a coin). I would be grateful for any insights into what might have happened, as I'm really blaming myself.
He seemed healthy last night, swimming as usual, and I didn't notice any signs of disease. I know about the potential illnesses like respiratory infections, septicemia, shell rot, and others that turtles can suffer from. I found him at the bottom of his sand-filled tank with one of his front limbs in the sand and his eyes wide open. No swelling around eyes, looked very normal.
Here's some details about his living environment:
- His tank was 120cm x 60 cm x 60 cm = which contained around 350 liters of water or around 95 US Gallons.
- I used an EHEIM classic 600 filter and his custom built aquarium included a built-in sump filter where I also kept some plants, like hornwort for additional filtration.
- The water was heated, with a temperature of about 30-32°C.
- I allowed some algae to grow in the aquarium on purpose, as I like how it looks and it helps filter excess nitrates. There was algae on the back/sides of the glass, but never on the turtle's shell.
- My turtle basked regularly. He had a hang-on-top basking area with a ramp, though he rarely climbed up on his own. So, I made sure to place him there to bask every few days, using a reptile heat lamp and an Arcadia PROt5 UVB light. The basking area was about 32-34°C.
- The water's pH was about 7.4, and Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates were all at 0 ppm.
- I fed him every 2-3 days, and he also ate some algae and snails that he found in the tank. His primary food was "Zoo Med aquatic turtle food maintenance formula," and I occasionally gave him green beans, zucchini, and other vegetables.
He is currently in a small box and I'm not really sure what to do with him, and it's just a little bit too much right now. I just hope he did not suffer, and i kinda wish i fed him a little bit more, until his heart's desire.
He seemed healthy last night, swimming as usual, and I didn't notice any signs of disease. I know about the potential illnesses like respiratory infections, septicemia, shell rot, and others that turtles can suffer from. I found him at the bottom of his sand-filled tank with one of his front limbs in the sand and his eyes wide open. No swelling around eyes, looked very normal.
Here's some details about his living environment:
- His tank was 120cm x 60 cm x 60 cm = which contained around 350 liters of water or around 95 US Gallons.
- I used an EHEIM classic 600 filter and his custom built aquarium included a built-in sump filter where I also kept some plants, like hornwort for additional filtration.
- The water was heated, with a temperature of about 30-32°C.
- I allowed some algae to grow in the aquarium on purpose, as I like how it looks and it helps filter excess nitrates. There was algae on the back/sides of the glass, but never on the turtle's shell.
- My turtle basked regularly. He had a hang-on-top basking area with a ramp, though he rarely climbed up on his own. So, I made sure to place him there to bask every few days, using a reptile heat lamp and an Arcadia PROt5 UVB light. The basking area was about 32-34°C.
- The water's pH was about 7.4, and Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates were all at 0 ppm.
- I fed him every 2-3 days, and he also ate some algae and snails that he found in the tank. His primary food was "Zoo Med aquatic turtle food maintenance formula," and I occasionally gave him green beans, zucchini, and other vegetables.
He is currently in a small box and I'm not really sure what to do with him, and it's just a little bit too much right now. I just hope he did not suffer, and i kinda wish i fed him a little bit more, until his heart's desire.