General Care Discussion :: Mysterious death

[Kevion3]

Hi,

I'm completely puzzled after one of my turtles died very suddenly. On Wed it looked perfectly fine, very lively and active as usual, no strange behaviours. On Fri it's nearly dead (no strength to hold up its head or limbs, doesn't swim, doesn't eat, virtually non-responsive). Does anyone know of a disease that can kill in 1-2 days? The only 2 reasons I could think of is 1) maybe one of the other turtles attacked it and caused a bacterial infection at the wound (though I couldn't find any bite marks), or 2) a viral infection to which only this turtle is not resistant.

Any other reasons I could think of cannot explain why the other turtles were perfectly fine, while this one collapsed without warning. By the way, this isn't a turtle that I just bought -- I got it a few months ago and it was fine all this time.

The only strange behaviour I've noticed is frequent yawns and open mouths while basking. But that was ONLY on Fri (when it was basically dead), never before that.

Some background info if this helps:
Turtle size: small (1.5 inches)
Feeding: fed daily with reptomin, daily with HBH pellets, every few days with cooked pork and vegetables; amount fed is about the size as the turtle's head
Water temp: about 25 C (76-77 F)
UVB + heat lamp: 10 hours/day on the basking area (the UVB lamp is only 4 months old, so shouldn't be expired yet)
Tank size: 20 gallons
Water quality: filtration + complete tank cleanup every 1-2 weeks; fed in separate container

Thanks for any input.

[emma]

Can you fill this thing out? It would probably be more helpful for us.

How big is your turtle?
How long have you had it?

What is the water temperature?
Did you use a thermometer?
Are you using a water heater?
How much water is in there?
Are you using a water conditioner?
Are you using any filtration?

What is the basking temperature?
Is there a basking light?
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?
What kind is it or what is it made out of?
Is there a UVB light?

What have you been trying to feed it?
When was the last time your turtle ate?

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
Is the tank near a window?
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?

Have you read the Basic Care section?
Have you searched the forums for similar situations?

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

[megcornell]

It sounds like a respiratory infection from the gaping mouth and severe lethargy.
As RI's can be contagious, I'd clean out the tank and bump up the water temp to 80 in case the other turtles are coming down with it. Keep an eye on them for any unusual behavior.
Turtles are pretty good at hiding symptoms of illness, sometimes until it's too late, so it's important to be vigilant if you think your turtles may be ill- sometimes just a slight change in behavior is all you'll see.

[Bumby's Mom]

The water temp should really be more like 78-79 degrees since they are that small.

[RunninWideOpen]

i'm sorry for your loss.

it sounds to me as though he may have nearly drowned, and some how got himself onto the basking platform. but, wasn't able to get all the water out of his lungs.

is there anything you can think of that he could have gotten stuck on in tank? if you have the floating turtle dock with the plunger and frame that holds it to the wall, they can get stuck on those pretty easy. especially turts that small.

[steve]

Sorry for the loss. If you still have him (do not freeze him), you can have a vet do a necropsy to confirm any of your suspicions.

[TurtleObsession28]

my turtle died in a mystirous way once, it would never eat, it would ONLY BASK, it acted like it didnt know how to swim so if we put it in the water it would struggle to reach the basking area again, then when it would bask it would stick only its head out of the shell and everything else would stay in it, then it would move its head up and down, then it died O_O

[larqw]

I'm sorry to hear

[Kevion3]

Thanks for all the replies. I *think* I know how it might've died. Just before that incident it swallowed an entire reptomin pellet whole (usually it breaks off a piece while I hold onto the other end, but this time the pellet slipped off my hand ). It looked fine at the time, but I guess before long the pellet caused some internal damage.

[marisa]

I'm sorry to hear your turtle died.

My turtles will swallow Reptomin pellets whole. I doubt that was the cause of death.

Had you had him a while? If not, he could have been sick when you got him and it took time for symptoms to actually show. Once symptoms do show, a turtle can already be very ill...

[Bumby's Mom]

Was it an adult reptomin stick or a baby reptomin stick? With the baby being that tiny if it was an adult stick I would imagine swallowing it whole is not good. My babies have the baby reptomin and they are just now being able to swallow the entire pellet where before I had to break it in halves or thirds for them to eat it.
Also, when my adult was choking on food she kept "yawning" and scratching at her throat. I had to turn her upside down and give her a little shake and all the food came out and she was fine. That was a nice lesson for me, never give a turtle corn or peas.
Sorry for your loss

[iac637]

we had a turtle that that happened to he died the same way we didn't know much about turtle care at that point but where improving. I think my big mistake was takeing them to VA with us for vacation to see my parents. I think he was sick already and it was just to much stress.

[Kevion3]

Also, when my adult was choking on food she kept "yawning" and scratching at her throat. I had to turn her upside down and give her a little shake and all the food came out and she was fine. That was a nice lesson for me, never give a turtle corn or peas.
Sorry for your loss

Actually, I did see a lot of "yawning." I had turtles yawning in the past, either normally or due to respiratory infection, but this was a different type of yawn. It almost looked as if it was trying to vomit something out. The reptomin was about 1/2 inch long, so probably big enough to cause serious damage to a 1.5-2 inches long turtle.