General Care Discussion :: floating upside down?

[dorawinifred]

Today I walked in and my turtle (~1.5") was floating upside down on the surface of the water. I assumed he was dead, but when I flipped him over he swam away. He is eating normally but is slightly lethargic and less likely to freak out and swim away when somebody enters the room. Any explanations for this behavior?

[steve]

Not sure I can explain it, but it is definitely something to be concerned about. Is he having other difficulties swimming? Was there enough water depth there for him to flip over?

[mikee]

I have never seen on stay on their back but it sounds like you may have saved him. You may want to consider he has RI. The get very listless and lathargic. If it continues I would suggest a vet visit. Until then I would suggest that you stick to the turtle rules of the road with temps, lighting, diet and clean water.

[papoopeepoo]

How deep is the water in the tank?

[marisa]

A healthy turtle should be able to flip himself over, assuming there's enough water in the tank (bare minimum is a level roughly at least the length of the shell). A turtle that's weak (from illness, for example) may give up after a few unsuccessful attemps at righting himself or may not even try.

Your turtle was lucky that you walked into the room when you did. (I once cared for a disable RES who could not right himself if he flipped over, and finding him that way was a constant source of worry.)

I would keep an eye on that "slight lethargy" just in case it's the beginning of other symptoms (and keep an eye out for other unusual behavior as well). About the lessening of the "freaking out" behavior, it could just be his getting more used to people (the behavior never totally goes away, however).

What is the water temp and basking area temp? What kind of basking area does your RES use?

[dorawinifred]

The water is definitely deep enough for him to flip himself back over. Rather than going onto the basking platform I have (I don't know exactly how to describe it, I made it myself), he usually floats under the light near the surface. The water temp is 78-80F. His tankmate is a bit larger and they never seem to bother each other, but I think the larger turtle might be flipping my little guy over. He is more energetic now but I did find him upside down one more time.

[marisa]

Perhaps the two turtles shouldn't be together?