General Care Discussion :: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 8:31 pm   My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

I live in Buffalo, NY and RES are not native here. One day kayaking I caught 2 baby RES. My son begged me to keep these ones. I said yes since if we have a cold winter here they die anyway or it’s likely they will. I have had them since about mid October and they were doing well the one was always a bit larger and he was growing much faster. The slightly smaller one was always slower to eat. Recently I started trying to feed him more to even out the size. They would fight over worms and I was worried he’s get hurt or not get enough food. They always had live plants to eat, live Rosie’s, live guppies, live ghost shrimp, and I’d feed them turtle pellets. I added crushed coral to give them nutrients into the water like calcium. They have a heater(76-78F), they have an over sized canister filter and I do 75% water changes every week and a half. I do dechlorinate the water. They have logs and rocks to bask on. It’s a 55 gallon tank with about 30 gallons of water. I do have lights on there, but noticed recently they have mostly stopped basking. About 2 weeks ago my son noticed a brown spot on the one who died a foot. I checked it out and it was firm and slightly raised. It was not broken skin and it did not seem to bother him. He was still acting normal and using his foot. I thought he was fine. Yesterday he didn’t eat, but I fed him a good bit the day before. Now today he’s dead. I feel terrible. My sons 11 and he loves these turtles. He would check on them in the morning, stop down and talk to them after school, and put them to bed. He fed them and he’s just sit down there and watch them. He’s crushed. Here are some pictures of his foot. I think maybe he broke it fighting with the other and maybe it was infected. It never swelled up or oozed or anything. Maybe he was out competed, but I always made sure he got food. The other turtle looks great and eats voraciously still. Super active too. The one that died always seemed to lag a bit behind in everything. Any help would be much appreciated. I want to care for the other one and keep him a live. I do t think it’s anything communicable, but want to be sure. Thanks kindly for any advice. I’m not new to turtles, but never had this happen.
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Saltwater60
 
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Post Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 3:28 am   Re: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

Sorry to hear about your loss. How big were the turtles? How long have you had them?
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steve
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Post Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 4:05 am   Re: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

Sorry to hear that :( Is your kiddo okay?

Maybe he had a skin infection? In case it would be because of some bacteria, I would do a complete water change this weekend, and check your turtle a bit more closely next week. Maybe it's unnecessary, but I'm always being extra with my RES (since we don't have vets for reptiles here).

You also don't need to make 75% water change every week if your filter is good. I change about 1/3 of water every two weeks because my water pump is on point. Just a little note that might make your life easier.
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PokePony
 
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Post Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 8:02 pm   Re: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

I got the turtles in the beginning of October. They are pretty small about 3” around and the other one is about 4-4.5” around.
My son is still pretty upset. He really loved them. He is now worried about the other one being lonely. He loves his animals.
I do the large water changes because there is always about 75 live fish for them to eat. I donot more to keep the fish alive than the turtles. The water is always clean when I do the change.

I thought infection too, but it never got worse so I kind of ruled it out. It never really swelled up or ozzed anything. I’m still just not sure. The smaller one that died always seemed to struggle a little bit. The other one about doubled in size and the small one didn’t seem to grow. I always made sure he got food too.
Saltwater60
 
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Post Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 9:58 am   Re: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

My turtles (who are in separate enclosures) will sometimes get sort of a brown callus but it goes away, so I would think something else happened. Any other symptoms or odd behavior?
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Mar 09, 2018 5:33 pm   Re: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

Nothing odd or out of the ordinary. He was eating up until the night before he died. I don’t think this is what happened, but he could have gotten stuck in between the rocks and drowned, but he was not stuck there when I found him. I was nervous about this and designed them so it would not happen. I also observed them many times and it was easy for them to get in and out. Also this is the spot where he slept every night so I doubt this is the cause.
Thanks it will make me feel a lot better if that’s not what causes his untimely death. I’m seriously upset about it. My poor son is still upstart too. His birthday is Sunday. He was so cute with those turtles. He would sit down there and talk to them. My wife and I would stand in the kitchen and listen to him. I put a chair down there and he just sits down there for a while and chatted them up.
Saltwater60
 
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Post Posted: Sat Mar 10, 2018 12:14 am   Re: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

I don't think he would've gotten stuck, passed, then unstuck. A strong filter intake could drown a turtle, but this also seems unlikely.

It's probably best to keep one turtle, as males and some female RES become quite aggressive towards each other. Very sorry your son is upset about it, he sounds like a great turtle keeper.
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Mar 11, 2018 11:57 am   Re: My red earred slider died today. Help me figure out wy

I do think they were a male and female, but they were not aggressive towards each other unless stealing a worm from each other. As for the filter Intake it’s a spray bar and it does move the turtles when they swim by, but it was far away from where I found him dead. They actually liked the spray bar I think because it slowed the fish down and they were easy snacks. They learned every time I added new fish they would target them. It was funny to see how smart they actually are. Thanks for the replies and my son is great with animals and small children. It’s wonderful to see. We have 5 bunnies and my wife works for a rabbit rescue and he loves them too. I will soon add a fish tank into the mix as well. He loves his animals and there is always a good teaching moment or something new for him to learn with pets. We are out in nature a lot. We hike, fish, hunt, camp, and kayak.
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