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Howdy guys. My littlest (about 2.5") turtle got stuck in the intake of my fluval FX5 filter. He managed to lift the sponge off the strainer and get his leg sucked in. I was able to remove the leg from the strainer without having to amputate it. No signs of broken bones just really swollen and red. My last turtle that did this was unconscious when I found him and I was able to save him. Should I just monitor this one until the swelling goes away or what?

Yes, continually monitor the color, swelling and sensitivity. I'd have a few vets picked out just in case you need their services.

I've never used a vet for a turtle. My lizards and snake have seen a local vet and she specializes in herpetology.

Swelling is going down a bit and he climbed onto a rock I placed in the temporary container. I'll probably leave him over night before returning him to the main tank.

You can see the back left (bottom right of pic) leg is swollen but he's able to move it and doesn't seem to bother him that much.

It doesn't seem as bad as I thought it would be. If you already have a herp vet, that's also good to know. How long do you think he was stuck?

Couldn't have been over a couple hours. He was wide awake and attempted to swim up for air when I got the strainer off of the pipe. The girlfriend left for work a couple hours before I got up and she didn't notice it. This is her favorite turtle and the tank sits in the bedroom next to the door.

How's he doing now?

I placed him back in the main tank after testing his ability to swim. Swelling is gone and he's an excellent swimmer. The normal coloring has returned and he uses the leg like nothing happened.

Cool to hear. Since the FX filters are pretty strong, you might want to consider making a protective inlet pipe. It's just PVC with some holes drilled into it.

I placed a sponge over the intake. This is my only turtle small enough now to get stuck. The sponge also is a great prefilter. Cleaning an FX5 monthly gets a bit challenging. This has cut down maintenance since I only need to rinse the sponge weekly. Last time I put it back I didn't notice I didn't get it all the way on the strainer and that is how he got caught in it.