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Hi Steve (and everyone else),

I hope you're all well and enjoying your time with your turtles!

You might recall that we have an older, female RES turtle, Turtleneck, living with us. She's almost 30 years old, and she's actually my housemate's turtle, officially, but I look after her much of the time. The past couple of months, she began sleeping (in the water) with her rear end elevated a few inches -- I've begun to wonder if turtles have some kind of ballast, and if so, that she's "lost" her ballast? (or something similar) ... Do you have any insights into this, Steve? Thank you very much!

hi! this is something to keep an eye on. if there are no other symptoms, then Turtleneck should be fine. when she normally sleeps, is it on the tank bottom? i do believe RES use water as a ballast, but i'm not sure if thats the issue here.

Hi Steve,
Thanks for responding and some insights into this query. She just started a couple of months ago sleeping like that, at the bottom of the tank. She was diagnosed a few years ago with MBD, and has since slowed down a lot (most noticeable when she's "dry docking", walking around on the floor). We've decreased her food considerably and usually only give her leafy green lettuce and a bit of chopped up zucchini these days (not every day).

Maybe it's just related to her age. Does she move around in the water when sleeping? She should be surfacing every once in awhile to breathe.

Yes, she's quite active in the water! And she does surface at times for (more) air. I think you're right it being an age-related thing. Thanks for your input, Steve, and have a great weekend!