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I have had two beautiful painted turtles die over the last three months from drowning in different ways. I am embarassed and guilty over these deaths but am sharing them to warn all. The turtles were almost two inches and 2 1/2 inches each and very healthy.
Turtle #1 , Tony , got stuck behind a fountain set up in his tank that he just got too big to fit behind and up anymore.
#2 , Izzie - got stuck on the suction end of my cascade outside filter when I had removed the filter basket on the end to suck up the stuff flying around the tank - the suction is pretty strong and she just got her poor shell stuck to it ! I was away for two days and found her when I returned.

Two things I learned ; as they grow , places they may have fit in and behind need to be monitored carefully. The suction end of filters - especially ouside filters - needs to be capped with a basket device or something to prevent turtles getting stuck on them.
tony:


Izzie:


RIP

Thanks, and good luck with your Turtles !

im soo sorry for your loss (sare those pics from when they were alive or dead?)

Very sorry to hear this. They can be very mischievous and go into places where we do not expect them too.

I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Turtles do love to squeeze themselves into tight places. It's awfully hard to protect them from everything when they're small.

Painted - sorry to hear that. But thank you for sharing. My baby's like to tuck them selves into places, and because of this i'll be looking around and making sure they can get in and out easy.

I'm very sorry for your losses. Your stories are warnings all turtle owners should take to heart.

I'm sorry to hear what happened---I remember when you first started posting about them. Depending on the set-up, objects do need to be changed/reorganized as they grow. Again, I'm very sorry.

SpotsMama wrote:I'm so sorry to hear of your loss. Turtles do love to squeeze themselves into tight places. It's awfully hard to protect them from everything when they're small.

that is so true!!
one of my turtles loves to squeeze itself between the rock and the tank corner. It stays there for hours and has its head out the surface to breathe. I guess he/she likes it, so i always make sure the space is big enough so it doesnt need to stretch its neck alllll the way to breathe on the surface. (cuz it tries so hard to stretch its neck to make it to the surface even if it can't )

Sorry to hear about your loss. Sometimes you have to learn things the hard way. I'm glad that you shared this so others don't make the same mistake. Did you get a new turtle?

no new turtle. I have pete - a red bellied slider in that tank ( 40 gallons ) and Lady and Tramp in my 55 gallon - that will do for now - I would have had to upgrade as Izzie grew. I do love painted turtles though...