Urgent Care :: RIP BIGGIE

[savage Rock]

i can't believe it, im in shock.

my 3" male turtle has passed.

i don't know what happened, i guess i'm just looking for answers..

he lives in a 75g tank with another small slider & 1 baby albino cory catfish. the water is absolutely clean running with a rena xp3 and fluval 4 plus.

his basking temperatures were around 90-95 and his water temp is around 85-87.

i was hanging out with him last night and he seemed okay. eating well, basking well and happy. i did notice last night he went onto the dock and spent quite a bit of time under the nighttime heat lamp. he moved around a lot, like he was looking for something... (i now wonder if that was a sign..)

i saw him this morning swimming before i left for work, now i just got a call from home that hes been floating around not moving. the top of his shell was really dry apparently so that means hes been passed for a while..

no injuries.. nothing... but now he's gone.

does anybody have any answers for me?

sorry if this is in the wrong forum section.

i also don't know what to do now. what would you normally do when you find your turtle has passed?

thanks for any help

[shedreamsinred]

I have no idea what happened, but I just wanted to say that I am really sorry you've lost your turtle. Best wishes.

[Spike 7.62]

My condolences for your loss.

He wasn't fed anything out of the norm? Is there substrate he could have swallowed and impacted himself with? In an optimal environment/conditions, a sudden death is strange. Genetics perhaps? I really don't know.

-Spike

[savage Rock]

thanks..

he ate a lot of lettuce and had a pellet or two a day. occasionally i would treat him with cut up crickets, tomatoes, and a lil bit of watermelon; all by hand so he wouldn't overeat.. theres no substrate... just a few big rocks and some river rocks. 80% of the tank floor is just glass.

theres no other animals in my house.... geez... what on earth happened..

the pet store i pretty much rescued from were not treating their sliders right. very very bad conditions. i wonder if that already doomed him from the start...

[vic021]

his water temperature was a lil high not sure that might be what caused it but im not sure hopefully some1 can give you a answere

[Spike 7.62]

It wasn't the water temperature, not at 85-87. For hot water to kill a turtle it has to be incredibly hot. There was something else at work here, perhaps an internal health issue from his time at the pet store. Or it could have been genetics, just like people and other animals, turtles can have sudden health issues at any age.

-Spike

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Since he came from very bad conditions like you said he might of been sick from the start with something.
Thats all i could think of your setup was good.
Sorry for your loss

[steve]

Sorry to hear about your loss. If you still have him, you can have a vet do a necropsy to possibly determine the cause.

[freshprince2146]

I am sorry for your loss.

I also named my turtle biggie in honor of the brooklyn rapper.

[savage Rock]

steve,
i never thought of that, necropsy. thanks! a wonderful idea but i am tight on budget and Biggie has also been in the ground for some time now.
i am going to pass his energy on to the rose bushes in my garden.
i am also going to dig him up in a month or so to preserve his shell and keep it as a memento.
thank you all for your thoughts, much appreciated.

freshprince - thats cool, i knew someone else out there would do the same. i am going to get another turtle and was wondering which late rapper i should honor, maybe ODB? haha

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Yeah Im thinking of doing the same thing with my turtle that passed a few weeks ago.
Im just hoping when i do i won't find him still rotting in the ground that would just make me drop in tears

[novroz]

I'm sorry for your lost...I hope it won't make you stop wanting to have another turtle