Other Turtle Discussion :: Robert passed away

[Zain]

today my res robert passed away . he was with me for a year and he was the most adorable turtle ever. he loved hiding in dark places when i let him out and he used to swim . i think i rarely saw him sit still and bask .
he just died and im not sure why ? he just became so sluggish and today he just sat on his rock and couldnt lift his head . he kept opening his mouth so wide . i dont know what happened
im gonna miss him

[sonyj]

Sorry for your lost.

From the opening his mouth comment, it sounds like it might have been RI to me.

[missibsu]

Sorry for you loss. Are you considering getting another turtle?

[DanielRES1180]

Sorry for Robert .

[Andrew7769]

im sorry did you see if he might have been chokeing on somthing?

[TinySlider2]

I'm sorry for your loss.

[Zain]

what exactly is RI ??? i do have another RES and i actually bought him recently .could he have caused it ??? because he hasnt been eating and he did tend burrow underneath robert

[DanielRES1180]

RI is short for respiratory infection. Do you mean the other turtle was the one that didn't eat and burrowed under Roger? If so I'd take the turtle to a vet ASAP, just to make sure.

[sonyj]

The new turtle could have caused it if he was sick when you purchased him and you added him to your existing habitat before the 90 day quarantine period was up. That's why it is a must to quarantine any new turtle within their own habitat for at least 90 days to insure you keep your existing turtles healthy.

RI can be passed from one turtle to another. Symptoms include but aren't limited to lethargy (not very active/wanting to bask a lot), listing (swimming-lopsided/erratically), weepy eyes, open mouth breathing, mucus from the nose etc. If the other turtle you still have shows any of these symptoms taking it to a vet as soon as possible is extremely important.

[marisa]

I'm sorry to hear the sad news. If the new turtle was immediately put with Robert without making sure he was healthy, he could very well have passed something to Robert to make him ill, even if the new turtle was showing no signs of being ill. A quarantine period is necessary (conservatively 90 days) to help ensure that such a thing does't happen.

I'd clean the tank well and keep an eye out for symptoms---swollen eyes and others noted above, including a sudden refusal to eat and excessive basking.

[industrial_girl_2000]

what exactly is RI ??? i do have another RES and i actually bought him recently .could he have caused it ??? because he hasnt been eating and he did tend burrow underneath robert

Respiritory infection. When they show signs of opening their mouth all the time & gasping for air, that's the time to take them to the vet *immediately*, and isolate any other turtles that you have in the tank with the sick turtle. Turtle Pneumonia can come from a lot of different things, including water temp that is too cold or from another turtle at the store (if your turt is new). Even if I have a cold/virus/flu, I wash my hands thoroughly before I handle my turt. You just never know, and I don't want to take the chance that my turt could catch something from me.

So if you choose to keep turts in the future, make sure to keep the water temp 76-80 degrees.

[Zain]

my other turtle doesnt seem to be eating... he usually has his eyes closed and seems lazy but when i put him in the sun he comes out to basks... hes also very shy ... dives for cover even when he senses someone in the room and closes his eys as if that will make me disappear
theres no excessive yawning ... actually i dont think i ve seen him open his mouth at all so i don't know

[marisa]

It would be good to keep an eye on him for any symptoms/unusual behavior.