General Care Discussion :: affects of dead turtle

[turtlecurious]

Ok so I have had 2 res' living together for the past about 7 years and one of them just died, I am curious as to whether the death of fellow turtles can effect the living turtle?

[marisa]

Welcome. Sorry to hear you lost one.

Healthwise, I think that would depend on the cause of death. If what the one RES died from was contagious, or if you're not sure, doing a thorough cleaning and disinfecting would be good. (It wouldn't hurt as a precaution.)

If you mean will the remaining turtle grieve for the lost companion, I doubt it. If there were a change in behavior, it would be more from the loss of something familiar in the tank (RES are creatures of habit) rather than that specific turtle.

What was the cause of death, do you know?

RES can live quite happily by themselves. They don't need buddies.

[turtlecurious]

I am not sure what the cause was, but I am thinking it might have possibly been a survival of the fittest moment. The dead turtle didn't look sickly just dead and prior to it i hadn't noticed anything wrong

[TheComputerGremlin]

You may want to consider taking the dead turtle to a vet for an exam and necropsy just to be sure. If it was a parasite or infection that killed it (which turtles are excellent hiding, btw), it would be good to know if your other one will get sick.

If it was the result of a fight, there should injuries, like missing tail, nails, arms/legs, bruises, damages, blood. If it was a drowning, that's a bit harder to tell.

I'm sorry for your loss, but your existing turtle will be happy by itself for the rest of its days.