Urgent Care :: HELP! Our turtle is decapitated!

[juelz]

We feel so terrible. Juelz & Alabama have lived together for about two years. One is male, one female. They've always gotten along fine.

Today we came home & Juelz is without a head, and Alabama looks guilty as ever.

Why would she do this?? We feel terrible and are really freaked out.

[Amg81083]

Was there a large size difference between the two turtles? How big is your tank? If they were together for two years I can assume they were both pretty big, and if you had them in a small tank that would have fostered aggression.....

Turtles are pretty solitary creatures... Adults need a LOT of room if you are going to keep them together *Think 200ish gallons*

I'm very sorry for your loss. Losing a pet is always hard. =(

[juelz]

They were each approx 5 inches long

I think it is a 30 gallon tank

We kind of knew that the tank was a bit too small, but for space & money reasons, we kept them at that size.

Ugh, this clean up is going to be horrible

[TheComputerGremlin]

Just another example of turtle aggression. It comes on out of nowhere and sometimes one dies. Be especially careful of your remaining turtle. DON'T put anything else with him unless it's a feeder fish. And watch your fingers.

[juelz]

OK so it turns out that he still had his head. Maybe he died and she scratched him up a bit. Or maybe they fought and she killed him.

Whatever the case, I'm just happy she didn't bite his head off!!!!

[Nettle]

How could you not tell if he had his or not? I can always see my RES's head when it's tucked in.

And he's dead for sure? How can you tell?

[juelz]

He was hiding in the shady part of the tank, in the back.

[res08]

This may sound noobie'ish but unless there is a tremendous size difference, how is it possible that turtles of the same size kill each other? I mean, once they tuck into their shells they are safe from most predators and other turtles.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Turtles have beaks that are meant to be able to stretch and grab. So, if the victim turtle wasn't expecting an attack, once the assailant turtle grabs on to a piece of skin, they may not let go. Then if the assailant turtle can get their beak or claws in to where the body is tucked, they can do a good amount of damage, resulting often in death. Size isn't that important. But eventually every victim turtle has to come out of his shell ...

[industrial_girl_2000]

Sorry to hear this happened.

[marisa]

Sorry to hear of your loss. I'm not quite sure I understand---the turtle had marks or cuts that indicated he had been bitten?

[kulki]

....that's horrible.... im so sorry... :*(

i have to 2 RES and they get a long fine but lately I've been having nightmares of one of them biting the other one....
....:*(

so it can happen...!

[octpusgirl8]

It can, and it can happen suddenly. If you have two turtles together, be sure that the tank is more than big enough (at least 10 gallons per inch of turtle shell) and watch closely for any signs of aggression. Fluttering and pestering are warning signs that they may be getting on each others nerves.

[Bascomb]

Another thought; maybe one tried to eat the other after it had died. A dead turtle is food to another turtle. b.

[yterron]

Sorry about your turtle... I'm kind of worried about that type of aggression with mine... I've had them in a tank with very little water (up to their nose) for about two years... now that I decided to get responsible I filled it half way up to where they can swim much much more... and NOW THEY have begun to fight ... what is up with them???