General Care Discussion :: I just fonund one of my two RES's dead!!! (+Pics)

[turtie]

I'm shocked!!!!! and sad!!!!

One of them just found dead, floating on the water with open eyes and mouth. Tried to "move" him, he didn't respond.

They were eating and basking regulary!! Don't have a clue why one of them is dead!!!


Heres a video I took just couple of days ago:
http://www.blip.tv/file/2784771


Please help me

[turtie]

Forgot to mention, water tests found perfect; ammonia 0, nitrite 0.
They have UVA/B + Heat lamps of course. They eat JBL RES food + fresh vegs.

[jozzep]

His eyes look very swollen, and i think i see some mucus under the neck.
I believe your turtle died from a respiratory infection.
Sorry.

[worldpeace]

Wow...that does not look pretty. Were the eyes that swollen when he was alive?

I also see that he is really swollen around the back legs. This could mean that there was some internal lesions and/or bleeding but it could also be just water that got into his body after he died.

Did you notice any unusual behavior before he died? The most common reason for death in hatchlings is a respiratory infection. The main site has some symptoms of this disease.
http://www.redearslider.com/respiratory_behavior.html
Look over them and if any of those were exhibited by your turtle then he probably died because of that.

It's also common for small turtles to drown if they get stuck somewhere and can't come to the surface to breathe. But I don't think this is the case here.

There is something called sudden turtle death (which happens in little children sometimes) when the turtle dies with no apparent reason.

As you can see there as numerous causes for his death and I, personally, cannot pinpoint the exact one. Maybe someone else here can give you more suggestions.

PS. I wouldn't recommend you keep the dead turtle for long as it will start to rot. If you can, bury it somewhere in your back yard.

[turtie]

thank you for your answers!

His eyes wren't swollen when he was alive. He acted pretty normally.
It looks like he "died suddendly with no reason"!
Did I did something wrong?

About the respiratory infection - can you tell me more about it? what's the cause of this infection?

...And the water now is OK for the second turtle or the water has infection because of the death of the dead RES??

Should I buy a new one and be calm or not?


Thanks!

[turtie]

P.S

I looked over this link you gave me
http://www.redearslider.com/respiratory_behavior.html
and I didn't notice any of those symptoms on my RES's....

[theartbook35]

Respiratory infections are usually caused by rapidly changing water temperatures.

[turtie]

OMG, I changed water today, but only little bit and I used an extra heater to warm up the new water before adding them!!!!

I killed him???????

[worldpeace]

The sudden change in water temperature would have been a shock to his system but was probably not enough to kill him.

What was the temperature of the water when you put the turtles in?

[turtie]

water temp is always 27.5 C (there's a heater in the tank)
and basking area is 37.5-40.5 C

[ESG4Life]

i noticed a white maggot looking thing hanging from somwhere around his neck. do you know what that is?

[worldpeace]

You're temperature is on the safe side.
ESG4Life - The white think you are referring to looks like mucus to me.

[theartbook35]

I still think respiratory infection. The swollen eyes could be post death.

Sometimes, no matter what we use for temperature control, the water in the tank will still heat or cool related to the temperature of the room the tank is kept in. Fluctuating temperatures are the most common causes of RI, but I know there are other, such as absolutely horrible living conditions, but your turtles look to me like they had a clean tank.

Hatchlings have a very high mortality rate. This is one of many reasons why pet stores sell them at 4 inches or larger. It's really not something you could control.

RI is very contagious. We have to assume that the other turtle could still get it, or has it. Change ALL of the water in the tank, and scrub the walls thoroughly with hot water. If you see any of the signs related to RI, take the turtle to a vet immediately.

[Linus]

He either choked or drowned. His neck is swollen because he was trying to swallow or throw something up.

He may have also gotten stuck under something in your tank.

Do you have small pebbles in your tank.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Remember that bodies naturally bloat after death because the bacteria contained internally continue creating gas without the ability to release it! Same reason why humans that drown eventually come back up. The swelling is likely from that.

turtie - Baby turtles frequently "just die" out of the blue, so it is likely nothing that you did or caused. These turtles are kept in terrible conditions. It's possible that your other turtle may have been eating all of the food and it died of starvation. There are literally tons of explanations, none of them provable.

What you need to focus on right now is keeping the other one alive. No, he does not need a friend, so just keep him by himself. What size is your tank? I would recommend a full cleaning of the tank to minimize the chances that if the other one died of an RI, it won't be caught by the healthy one. Make sure you allow the water to come up to temperature completely before adding him in this time, just in case. Take out a bowl-full of the current tank water, put him in, and then clean the tank out. If you decide to use a 10% bleach solution, make sure it completely air dries before adding him. You can also use a vinegar solution to clean with. Add him but not the tank water when it comes to temperature.

Continue watching for signs of RI, which include lethargy, lack of eating, laying on the basking area sort of limp, floating in the tank or lopsided floating, lack of energy, etc. But don't stress over the death of your other turtle, it just sometimes happens with hatchlings.