Urgent Care :: Baby turtle fell from aquarium

[tomtrieu]

How big is your turtle? about 1 inch
How long have you had it? i just got it today

What is the water temperature? around 75-78
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? about 12 inch?
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes 2

What is the basking temperature? around 80-90
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? fairly
What kind is it or what is it made out of? egg crate and a bird cage
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? i have only fed them ReptoMin
When was the last time your turtle ate? about 3 hours ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 30 gallons
Is the tank near a window? yes but no sunlight will come throw
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? hidding at the buttom of that tank

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Hi, I just got 2 baby red ear slider today and they seem happy, and started to swim around and bask almost as soon as I let them out of the bag. I had to run upstaires to grab a bucket that I was planning to feed them in.

(I made a dock for them to bask on out of a bird cage that I had, its very stable and I attacted a ramp to it with "walls" on the sider to pervent them from falling off)

When I got one, I saw one of my baby turtle on the floor! I looked at it and it looked fine. It landed infront of my tank so blocked the only opening with a board. After I was that the little hole I had(the hole was way smaller than they are and I dont even know if thats where it got out from) I blocked some other area that I thot they might be able to get through.

After I blocked everything in the front, I decided to start on a lid for the tank incase it happens again. And while I was measuring the plastic, the SAME turtle fell again! But this time at the back of the tank.

I rushed over to the turtle and looked at it all over. At first everything looked fine, shell was fine and everything, but a closer look at the belly showed that there were 2 very little cracks, maybe about 2mm long.

I washed the baby turtle under warm water, there were no bleeding or anything, the turtle was hidding at first but while washing it came out of the shell. So I put it back into the tank.

I cover everything up, I made a VERY fast but workable lid for the tank. Tomorrow I'll have to go buy more supplies for the tank but I'm worry that these little crack may cause a problem.

The turtle is swimming but is scared to come up, which is normal(I think), and I do not think that they would get infected because the tank is very clean, and I washed it very well.

I just want to know if there anything else I should be worrying about or that I can do to help the little turtle.

ps. i feel really bad for that turtle for falling twice on the day it came to its new home.. is there a way i can make it feel more at ease?
(sorry for calling it an it, i can not tell if its a male or female yet)

[Azfar]

Hi, I'm not dat expert to help you much but based from my experienced handling my turtles.. I think my baby (1 year ago) had several times climbing and jump out from the tank.. and never had any problem. Eat well, pooped well and I think after all incident, she just become more hyper active and naughty girl.

To make your baby ease with the problem, you may leave he/she in the tank and let he/she swim privately but still observed time to time whether any abnormal activity.

[SpotsMama]

Here's a link on what to do in case of a minor shell break:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4519

Of course, your turt's shell isn't bleeding (thank goodness) but if it's cracked, then there's opportunity for bacteria to get in, just as if it had bled, so I think you should follow the instructions on the link anyway.

I think there must be too much water in the aquarium. Lower the water a bit and make sure there's nothing a turtle could climb up on to escape - like the filter, a heater, the basking platform. Most people use a basking platform that floats and rises and falls with the water so it's easy to be sure it isn't close enough to the rim to allow the turtle to escape.

Why don't you give us photos of your setup? Maybe some of the people can make suggestions on how to make it turtle-escape proof. Photos of the little turts would be good too!