Habitat - Indoor :: depth of water?

[tosweetsunshine]

My turtle is not a good swimmer, he only has 2.5 legs, so his water cannot be deep like I see in all the photos. He loves to swim, but he cannot hold himself up, so his water is only 3-4 inches deep. Any suggestions? When I make it deeper, he struggles to breath and he has turned himself upside down and scared me and nearly drowned several times.

[cam722]

I was actually just wondering about this.. I think under the circumstances whatever is best for him .. the water shouldn't be as deep as others have for their healthy turtles. If he seems to be happy and doing well with the depth of water he has.. then that's how deep it should be. I know there's a few on here that have dealt with handicap turtles.. Marisa is one.. I'm sure she can give you some good advice once she sees your posts

[tosweetsunshine]

thanks, I will watch for her. I will post pictures tomorrow of Stinky, he is fast asleep right now. He really loves to get out and walk around the house. I think when he comes up to beg, he wants out and he wants food. Maybe he needs a bigger tank. He is in a 10 gallon.

[tosweetsunshine]

well, I just read that he needs 10 gallons for every inch, so he is 3x3 now, so a bigger tank is needed. Yikes.

[SpotsMama]

That's 10 gallons for each linear inch of shell, without making any allowance for the curve in the shell. If his shell is 3 inches long, then you'd need at least 30 gallons. You usually want to get a bigger rather than a smaller tank to allow for future growth.

Those rules of thumb, however, are for four legged turtles. Marisa will probably know if they apply for 2.5 legged ones.

[marisa]

tosweetsunshine, I mentioned in another of your posts that I once had a disabled turtle with only two legs. And, I think I mentioned that the set-up may have to be adapted to accommodate his disability. Is he comfortable and can he get around easily with the water level at around 4 inches? I wouldn't worry about deep water because it's the "rule" (it really isn't a rule, just a guideline). If he struggles with deeper water there's a possibility of drowning, this should tell you not to give him deep water.


If he tips over can he right himself? This was a constant fear with my turtle--he could sometimes and other times could not.

I'm curious---did your turtle lose his legs through some sort of accident or is the condition congenital?