Other Turtle Discussion :: How can a RES die during a road trip?

[Turtlesarecoool]

This 6-7 year old female RES isn't really mine, but I decided to rehome it from Orange County to my place in Santa Barbara. I also brought along two 5 year old male RES but they were fine! The big female one was put in a large plastic tub and the other two were put together in another tub. It was a 4 hour drive altogether. I'm gonna say it was my fault in the first place because I didn't know I was supposed to have a wet towel in the tubs to keep them hydrated during the long trip. The turtles weren't traveling in the trunk but in the back seats of my car along with my two friends that came along. The turtles were fine for the first few hours...but when we arrived, the males were released into my pond first and they were happily swimming towards the water lilies. However, the big female RES sank straight to the bottom. She didn't move AT ALL. Her back legs were out and her arms were to the side. Her head was sucked in (not all the way but visible). Both of her eyes were half opened, not sunken in. At first I thought she was hibernating but then how can they hibernate on land during the whole trip? So it couldn't be that. So I tried the poking her legs, arms and tail but she wouldn't budge. Legs and tail were stiff like if I pulled them out, they'd suck back in place. I've read that aquatic turtles rest on the bottom so when they die they sink? I'm really worried about her. The car did have an odor that night, but it was there since morning too! She was alive all day until the time we arrived. I don't know how she "died" when the 5 year old males were still alive? Am I missing something here? I don't have any pictures of her at the moment. I should've not went on the trip

[steve]

You don't need a wet towel to keep them hydrated. I wouldn't assume she's dead. Was the trip during the day? Was the container lined with anything? What was the temperatures?

[Turtlesarecoool]

You don't need a wet towel to keep them hydrated. I wouldn't assume she's dead. Was the trip during the day? Was the container lined with anything? What was the temperatures?

The trip was at noon until really late afternoon. Before I left the house, I had a bit of newspaper lined at the bottom. She started ripping it up and I didn't want her to eat the paper on accident so I took it all out. She was in the container the whole trip without anything in her tub except a few stones that was in her tank before. The temperatures were around 82-85 degrees. I had the windows down the whole ride because I didn't want the car to keep the stinky smell. Honestly I don't think she's dead either. I think she's really stressed? But then again, no movement and stiff body parts. Here's a pic of what she looks like a few days before the trip and what they were in on the trip. They're all separated but in one big tub because of insufficient space in the car.

[Kansasslider]

Are you sure its dead?

[Turtlesarecoool]

Are you sure its dead?

Here are some photos of it. It looks alive but at the same time dead.

[steve]

Any update? It doesn't look good

The rock shouldn't have been there, but I don't know if it contributed to this problem. I'm wondering if turtles should be transported differently, similar to how they are shipped.