Urgent Care :: my turtle fell out of his tank!

[LurycNitsuj]

I just woke up from a nap and went over and checked his tank and he was nowhere to be seen. So I looked around his tank and he was all burrowed in with his cords... I looked him over before i put him back in the water, and it didnt look like he had a crack in his shell or anything... Should I have dry docked him for a bit before doing this, I was kind of not thinking straight because of how scared I was to find him on the ground. Hes been back in the water for like 10 min now and seems to be acting normal after a few minutes of just hanging out by the bottom.

Any advice would be awesome, thanks...

Justin

[Arisu]

If there aren't any physical damages just take note of any unusual behavior. How high of a fall was it? Also, how did he escape? I hope its okay!

[megcornell]

The important thing is to make sure he can't escape again. If you have to lower the water until you can figure out his escape route, it's worth it.
The second or third escape he might not be so lucky.

I'm glad he's ok this time though!

[LurycNitsuj]

yea, he seems ok, he got out of a 55 gallon tank, and im guessing the fall was about 4 feet to 4 1/2 feet. Hes a trooper. Hes went through some rough stuff before I found this site and learned how to take care of him. Ive had him for like a year and 4 months, and im sure the first 4 months werent great for him. But somehow he made it, and hes healthy as can be now, besides some pyramiding from the first 4 months, I had no idea how much to feed him. But the pyramiding is almost gone.

Anyway, Im guessing he climbed out by his heater, so I'm going to move the heater on its side until I can make a cover for him. Thanks for the replies!

[untsmurf]

Egg crate is cheap and makes a great cover for any tank. You can find it at your local hardware store.