How can you tell if a turtle is hibernating?

Turtle hibernation (wintering)

In nature, when it gets too hot or too cold, turtles go into summer or winter hibernation.
The turtle digs a hole in the ground, where it crawls and sleeps until the temperature changes. In nature, hibernation lasts approximately 4-6 months, at least from December to March. The turtle begins to prepare for hibernation when the temperature in its habitat remains below 17-18 C for a long time, and when it exceeds these values for a long time, it’s time for the turtle to wake up. At home, it is very difficult to hibernate correctly so that the turtle emerges healthy and at all, so if you are new to terrariums, we recommend that you do not hibernate turtles. Sick animals and those recently brought from elsewhere are definitely not allowed to hibernate.

The advantages of wintering: it helps maintain normal activity of the thyroid gland and thereby increase the life expectancy of the turtle; it synchronizes the sexual activity of males and follicular growth of females; it prevents excess growth and helps maintain normal hormonal status. Both land and freshwater turtles can be hibernated.

Disadvantages of wintering: the turtle may die or wake up sick.

What mistakes happen when organizing wintering

Sick or weakened turtles are put to winter
Humidity too low during hibernation
Temperature too low or too high
Insects that climbed into the wintering container and damaged the turtle
You woke up turtles during hibernation and then put them back to sleep

How to avoid wintering

In mid-autumn, turtles, which in nature become less active during the winter, refuse food. If you do not want the turtle to hibernate and cannot provide it with normal sleeping conditions, then increase the temperature in the terrarium to 32 degrees and bathe the turtle more often. If the turtle won’t eat, then you should go to the veterinarian and get a vitamin injection (Eleovita, for example).

How to put a turtle to sleep

European keepers strongly recommend hibernating turtles for their health. However, in apartment conditions this is not at all easy to do. It is much easier to hibernate reptiles for those who have a private home. If, nevertheless, your goal is to put the turtle to sleep, or the turtle itself wants to go into hibernation (it often sits in the corner, digging soil), then:

Make sure the turtle is a species that overwinters in the wild, so clearly identify its species and subspecies.
You need to be sure that the turtle is healthy. It is better to consult a veterinarian. However, it is not recommended to give vitamins and fertilizers immediately before wintering.
Before hibernation (late autumn, early winter), the turtle must be well fed so that it gains a sufficient amount of fat necessary for nutrition during sleep. In addition, the turtle should drink more.
A land turtle is bathed in warm water, then not fed for several weeks, but given water so that all the food eaten is digested (small ones for 1-2 weeks, large ones for 2-3 weeks). Freshwater turtles have their water levels lowered and are also not fed for a couple of weeks.
Gradually reduce the duration of daylight hours (by moving the timer to shorter periods of turning on the lamps) and temperatures (gradually turn off the lamps or water heating) with increasing humidity to the level required during the cooling period. The temperature must be lowered gradually, since reducing it too sharply will lead to colds.
We prepare a wintering box, which should not be too large, because... During hibernation, turtles are inactive. A plastic container with air holes will do. Wet sand, peat, and sphagnum moss 10-30 cm thick are placed at the bottom. The turtles are placed in this box and covered with dry leaves or hay on top. The humidity of the substrate in which the turtle overwinters should be quite high (but the substrate should not get wet). You can also place turtles in linen bags and pack them in foam boxes, in which sphagnum or sawdust will be loosely scattered.
Leave the container at room temperature for 2 days.
We place the container in a cool place, for example, in a corridor, preferably on a tile, but so that there are no drafts.
IN
depending on the type and the temperatures it requires, we lower the temperature, For example: floor (18 C) for 2 days -> on the windowsill (15 C) for 2 days -> on the balcony (12 C) for 2 days -> in the refrigerator (9 C) for 2 months. The wintering place for the turtle should be dark, well ventilated, and have a temperature of 6-12°C (preferably 8°C). For exotic southern tortoises, lowering the temperature a couple of degrees may be sufficient. Every time you examine the turtle, you need to spray the soil with water. It is better to do this once every 3-5 days. For aquatic turtles, humidity during hibernation should be greater than for land turtles.
It is necessary to bring them out of hibernation in the reverse order. Before overwintering turtles are allowed into a terrarium or outdoor area, they are bathed in warm water. If the turtle appears dehydrated, emaciated, inactive, or in a daze, restorative measures should begin with warm baths.
Normally, the turtle should start feeding within 5-7 days after the temperature reaches normal. If the turtle is unable to recover, you should contact a veterinarian.

It is important to know

Hibernation time for turtles is usually 8-10 weeks for small turtles and 12-14 for large turtles. Turtles should be placed in winter quarters in such a way that they “wake up” no earlier than February, when daylight hours noticeably lengthen. Can be from 3-4 weeks to 3-4 months. The condition of the turtles is checked every month, trying not to disturb them. The weight of a turtle normally decreases by 1% for each month of wintering. If the weight decreases faster (more than 10% of the weight) or the general condition worsens, wintering must be stopped. During the winter, it is better not to bathe turtles, as they usually urinate if they feel water getting on their shell. If the turtle begins to be active at a temperature of 11-12°C, wintering should also be stopped. For all hibernating reptiles, the limits of temperature fluctuations are from +1°C to +12°C; In case of long-term cooling below 0°C, death occurs.

(author of some of the information is Snegir, forum myreptile.ru)

Gentle hibernation regime for turtles

If the general condition of the turtle does not allow for a full winter, or if there are no suitable conditions in the apartment, you can arrange “overwintering” in a gentle manner. To do this, soil that better retains moisture (sawdust, moss, peat, dry leaves, etc.) is added to the terrarium in which the turtle was kept. Level - 5 - 10 cm. The soil should not get wet. The light in the terrarium can be turned on for 2 - 3 hours a day. In the middle of overwintering, the lights can be turned off completely for 2 - 3 weeks. The temperature should be maintained at 18 -24°C during the day, and drop to 14 - 16°C at night. After the “peak” of such wintering (when the heating is turned on again for 2 - 3 hours), you can offer the turtle her favorite food once a week. The beginning of independent feeding is a signal of the end of wintering.

(from the book by Vasilyev D.B. “Turtles...”)

Wintering temperature of different types of turtles

K.leucostomum, k.baurii, s.carinatus, s.minor - room temperature (can be placed somewhere on the floor, where it is cooler) K.subrubrum, c.guttata, e.orbicularis (marsh) - about 9 C T.scripta (rudders), R.pulcherrima - do not need to hibernate

Articles on the site

Advice from foreign experts on the proper WINTERING of turtles

In the article, I propose to consider the reasons why turtles can die when kept at home. I will explain how to distinguish a turtle that hibernated from a turtle that died from something; I’ll also give advice on how to cope with the loss of your beloved pet and not fall into depression.

Pet turtles, including red-eared turtles, are unpretentious pets, but, like other animals, they require appropriate housing conditions.

You will need an aquarium or terrarium with high-quality filler, suitable temperature conditions, absence of drafts, hourly feeding in accordance with a specially selected diet for reptiles, regular bathing and examination for the timely detection of ailments and diseases.

Failure to comply with the rules for keeping a turtle is fraught with a deterioration in the well-being of your pet, which in advanced cases leads to the fact that they may die.

Is it possible to sleep in a refrigerator?

Biologists recommend placing turtles in the refrigerator during hibernation, because it is easy to maintain the same temperature.
First, the turtle is placed in a cardboard box, which is not much larger in size than the animal, the voids are filled with torn paper, and placed in a refrigerator with a temperature of +12 degrees. The temperature is reduced every day by 1 degree until it reaches +5. To overwinter in the refrigerator, the turtle can be buried in a substrate of turf soil, sand and fine gravel. The layer of mixture above the turtle should be within 8-9 cm, but to prevent it from suffocating, the refrigerator door must be opened for 10-15 minutes every 2 days.

What can pet turtles die from?

Turtles, even outside the wild, are long-lived.

The causes of death can be divided into two categories: those independent of the pet owner and those dependent.

Independent:

The animal initially had weak immunity and/or a congenital disease.
Poor conditions for breeding and keeping at the supplier, poor quality transportation, non-compliance with sanitary standards in the pet store.

Dependent:

Poorly organized place for reptiles. These include: a small aquarium/terrarium, unsuitable soil, too low/high temperature, excessive/insufficient lighting, drafts in the room with the aquarium/terrarium.
Poor diet. Turtles prefer a variety of plant foods. Her well-being can be harmed by foods such as: bread, eggs, seafood, meat, sausage, milk, cottage cheese, cheese. Feeding frequency has an impact. Young individuals are fed once a day, adults should be fed once every 2 to 3 days. The lack of vitamins also has a detrimental effect on the turtle's health.
Lack of water treatments. If you do not bathe the animal once every 1 - 1.5 weeks, it can get sick and die.
Frequent transportation. A turtle, like any other pet, is best kept alone and not subjected to unnecessary transportation. If this cannot be avoided, then this should be done as carefully as possible in a special container.

At home, with proper care, they can live up to 15 years.

Poor diet can kill your pet

In any case, a living turtle does not emit any odors.

5) After 2-3 days, the dead turtle will smell of corpse decomposition. In general, a turtle’s poor condition usually does not begin immediately; it does not die suddenly, but gradually becomes ill with something. Therefore, the owner’s task is to correctly and promptly recognize this deterioration of the condition and take the turtle to the veterinarian in time to begin treatment. 40% (those turtles that survive to be sold often find themselves in such conditions that “it would be better if they died as children” than to suffer in dirty aquariums or on the floor under a radiator).4.

Moreover, by the time of death, turtles often have a whole complex of diseases - from vitamin deficiency and rickets to gout in landlubbers. 1. Buy a turtle only in the warm season, when it is more than 20 C outside. And only in pet stores, and not from hand or in the market. It is better, of course, to take abandoned turtles.2. 5. If you have just bought or adopted a turtle, it is also better to see a veterinarian-herpetologist.

She just hides in her shell and falls asleep. In order not to bury the animal alive, you need to know the main signs of the death of a turtle. If the red-eared turtle does not come out of hibernation with the onset of warm weather, then this becomes the first alarming sign. To do this, you need to take the animal in your arms and touch its face and paws. A living turtle will immediately twitch and try to hide even deeper into the shell.

How to cope with the death of a pet

No matter how much we want it, nothing on this planet lasts forever.

Birth and death are natural processes and should not be feared. The death of a pet is a big loss, but you have to accept it in order to move on with your life.

Here are some tips for coping with loss:

Give vent to your emotions, cry. Tell your family and friends about your problem. Talk about this as much as necessary, your loved ones will understand you.
Distract yourself from something that makes you happy. Play sports, go to a concert or theater, draw, do renovations, or just spend a couple of days lying on the couch watching your favorite films and TV series.
See a psychologist if necessary. There's nothing to be ashamed of.
Wait. Time cures. Everything passes, it's true.

A new pet can help you overcome the pain of the death of your previous one.

Don't despair if an accident happens to your pet. Try to live through the period of acceptance and subsequent adaptation to the maximum benefit. Create and develop. Don't get discouraged, go out with friends, spend time in pleasant company. Later, if you have the strength and desire, you can think about sheltering an animal in need of a roof over your head at home.

Well, if you get bored, watch films about turtles

Don’t skimp on purchasing the necessary equipment; treating a turtle can become much more expensive and troublesome. Most of the turtles in our homes are Central Asian (land) and red-eared (aquatic), less common are European swamp turtles (aquatic) and Far Eastern Chinese trionics (aquatic). Having decided on the species, take a close look at the turtle.

Examine the turtle's eyes - they should not be constantly closed, swollen, watery, or sunken. A healthy turtle does not drag itself with difficulty along the surface, but steps on all four paws, stretches its neck, exploring the surroundings. The turtle should not make squeaks, wheezes, whistles, or clicks (do not confuse all this with hissing when they are trying to scare you!). The shell of a healthy turtle is quite smooth, without bumps, humps or depressions, evenly convex on top (this is the carapace) and smooth below (this is the plastron).

If the turtle is dead, then it will not move them. She didn't eat for 2 days and they brought her to the veterinarian. Like any other animal, a turtle can get sick. My name is Zina. I am a red-eared turtle. It is advisable to check how turtles sleep sometimes and weigh them. Watching them, you understand that they are not so emotionless and stupid.

How can you tell if a turtle is sleeping or dead?

Inexperienced turtle lovers often panic when they watch their turtles hibernate. They can remain in one position for a long time without signs of life, which in itself is alarming. First of all, you need to know that this is typical for cold-blooded creatures, because their body temperature depends on the air temperature, and when it decreases, they hibernate.

To be fair, we note that today in city apartments the temperature usually does not fall below 20 degrees. And turtles in such living conditions tend to become more passive and lethargic. Their appetite may decrease. If a reptile does not show signs of life for a long time, then you can understand that everything is fine with it as follows:

Corneal reflex. Check to see if your reptile has it. Take a cold metal spoon and apply it to her eye. A reflexive retraction into the orbit or its opening will demonstrate that everything is fine with it. If this does not happen, then the reptile has died.
Head position. When she and the reptile’s paws are retracted into the shell, then it is most likely alive. Elongated and hanging limbs that do not respond to touch indicate that there are no signs of life in the body.
Retraction of the lower jaw. Try opening the reptile's mouth by gently lowering the lower jaw. A living ward must close her mouth. Otherwise, the reptile would develop rigor mortis.
Reaction to water. When an aquatic representative of reptiles is moved to warm water (30-31 degrees), it will begin to move its legs and swim.
Smell. Within two days you will hear the characteristic stench from a dead turtle. An unpleasant odor accompanies cadaveric decomposition.

Experts emphasize that these reptiles never die immediately and suddenly. As a rule, they get sick, and if the owner does not react in time to the decrease in the reptile’s activity and does not take it to a veterinarian, then it may die. Statistics show that 2% of reptiles die from old age, and 48% from improper transportation and storage in a store.

In the comfort of home, decorative reptiles live quite a long time compared to other popular pets; with decent maintenance and feeding, the lifespan of land and aquatic turtles is about 20-30 years. But most often, turtles do not even survive to maturity and may die due to a banal violation of living conditions, infectious diseases or a lack of vitamins and minerals.

How can you tell if a turtle is dead or hibernating?

A couple of days ago I found our pet, the red-eared turtle Professor, floating in a daze.
Took it out of the water. Limbs bend. But suspiciously elongated. The head can be pushed into the shell with your finger. She then pulls herself out. The professor shows no signs of life. How to determine: he died or hibernated? You don’t have to retell answers from the Internet. I know them all.

In a couple of days the dead creature will begin to decompose, I believe. I also know that red-eared turtles do not need to hibernate.

What confuses me most is the season. Why now, when daylight hours have increased significantly, should we hibernate? Unless, of course, you are writing from Australia.

This is how the death of the turtle was already determined. The pliability of the limbs is just soft skin, it is flexible during life, it stretches strongly, but in death it is less stretchy, simply flexible.

How does a hibernating turtle behave if it is alive?:

The limbs are elongated, but bend - the turtle is dead; a living limb does not stick out constantly, unless the turtle is basking on a pebble under UV rays.

The head can be pushed into the shell - if it is dead, the living one will not allow anything to be pushed into itself even in hibernation, it will pull it in itself, albeit slowly (when in hibernation).

Then the head itself stretches out - dead, a living turtle will not stretch out its head immediately after they tried to push it into the shell.

Shows no signs of life - dead, a living turtle always reacts to any touch, even in hibernation! Taking a sleeping turtle in our hands, we only touch the shell and the turtle reacts to this! Moves its paws, turns its head, retracts its neck and hides its head, rolls its eyes under the eyelids and other signs of movement.

How else can you tell if a turtle is alive or not?:

You can also understand that the turtle is alive if you put it on your palm so that its shell (peritoneum) rests on the convexity of the index finger on the inside of the palm, this is the beginning of the first phalanx. By holding the turtle's belly in the palm of your hand as described, you can feel the pulses of its heartbeat, but not everyone can feel the heartbeat this way. Only those who have sensitive skin and experience holding a turtle in the palm of their hand. Sometimes you can even hear your pet’s heart beating faster than usual, and this happens during periods of frightening and panic. Turtles are afraid of new environments, unknown objects, they get scared of everything when they see it for the first time (even a fallen leaf from a tree will scare it the first time until it studies it).

Causes

Unfortunately, only 2% of turtles die from old age when kept at home. In older reptiles, the body gradually ages, as a result of which the pet turtle dies from chronic systemic diseases. Much more often, the causes of death of exotic animals at home are:

improper maintenance of the reptile;
unbalanced diet;
lack of vitamins and mineral elements;
violation of the conditions of transportation or keeping in a pet store;
congenital pathologies;
overfeeding;
infectious and non-communicable diseases;
decreased immunity.

Congenital developmental disorders or decreased immunity are criteria for natural selection; animals with such developmental defects most often die in the first month of life. 40% of the causes of turtle deaths are due to violation of feeding and keeping conditions at home, 48% due to negligent treatment of animals during transportation and storage in pet stores. Very often, people purchase an already sick, exhausted reptile that has no chance of survival.

Preparation

So, how do red-eared turtles hibernate at home? About 2 months before hibernation, switch your pet to an enhanced diet so that she can store as many nutrients as possible

This is important because during hibernation animals lose weight by almost 2 times. It is useful to give your turtle special nutritional supplements (they are sold at the pet supply store)

But a week before bedtime, the animal needs to stop feeding altogether.

The ideal temperature during sleep is from 1 to 6 degrees Celsius. This regime can be ensured by placing the animal, for example, in the basement. However, be careful. Hypothermia is fatal for red-eared turtles. It is also necessary to maintain optimal humidity conditions. It can be provided by moistened moss and leaves. This environment is well ventilated.

How to tell if a turtle is dead

You can understand that a red-eared or Central Asian turtle is dying by a change in the behavior of the reptile. Signs of deadly diseases in unusual pets are the following symptoms:

lack of appetite;
lethargy;
immobility;
lack of response to stimuli;
reluctance of an aquatic reptile to be in water;
shortness of breath, wheezing, whistling;
cough, sneezing;
swollen closed eyes;
swelling of the limbs;
bleeding;
delamination and deformation of the shell scutes;
hind limb failure;
ulcers and weeping wounds on the skin and shell.

Old reptiles can die in their sleep without previous clinical symptoms of disease; in this case, it is impossible to know in advance the possible date of death of a pet. It often happens that a recently active turtle suddenly stops showing signs of life. Wild reptiles hibernate in autumn and summer to survive unfavorable periods. This natural instinct is also preserved in pets, therefore, in order not to bury the animal alive, it is necessary to check whether the turtle is alive.

You can determine that a turtle is dead and not hibernating using the following methods:

Corneal reflex test. A living reptile, in response to the touch of a metal object on the cornea of the eye, reflexively draws the organ of vision into the orbit or opens the eye. If there is no response, the death of the animal can be assumed.
Definition of breathing. If you carefully observe the nostrils of a sleeping reptile, you will notice their slight fluttering. You can place a mirror near the reptile’s beak; the moist exhaled air will definitely fog it up. Lack of breathing indicates the death of the animal.
Position of limbs and head. Turtles sleep with their paws and head retracted into their shell; muscle tone can only exist in a living creature. If the limbs and neck hang down, the reptile is most likely dead.
Retraction of the lower jaw. You can gently pull back the lower jaw, which in a healthy animal should reflexively close when releasing the hand. An open jaw indicates rigor mortis of the animal.
Reaction to water in aquatic turtle species. When a freshwater or marine reptile is placed in water with a temperature of 30-31C, the animal begins to move its limbs. The absence of such a reaction most often indicates the death of a pet.
Determination of the color of the oral mucosa. When opening the jaw, it is recommended to examine the pet’s oral cavity. In a living animal, the color of the mucous membrane is pink, in a corpse it is light gray.
The appearance of a corpse odor. If after 2-3 days the smell of corpse decomposition emanates from a motionless animal, there is no longer any doubt about the death of the reptile.

Before getting an exotic pet, it is recommended to carefully study the physiology, feeding and care of an unusual animal. Due to the physiological characteristics of reptiles, it can be difficult to determine the signs of death of a pet; a sleeping pet looks like a dead turtle. To avoid irreparable consequences, if there is any doubt that the turtle has died, you should contact a herpetologist.

What do turtles die from, how to determine the death of a pet Please

Red-eared turtles often hibernate during the winter. Thus, they climb into the shell and sleep. Breeders sometimes perceive this phenomenon as the death of a pet, because it is practically impossible to determine whether the reptile is breathing due to the protective shell. In order not to bury your pet alive, you should familiarize yourself with the possible signs of death, as well as the reasons why turtles may die.

Of course, if the pet remains in hibernation when the weather warms up, then breeders should be wary. But if the room is cold enough, then the reptile will not wake up. In this regard, it is necessary to create the correct conditions, warm the terrarium and add warm water. If the animal remains in its shell, and there are no other signs of life, then mortality should be determined by other measures.

Rules for caring for a sleeping turtle

If you notice the first signs of the approaching winter in a red-eared slider, be sure to consult with a veterinarian, who will examine it and tell you what needs to be done if the reptile actually hibernates.

During the winter, adhere to the following recommendations:

Lower the water level
. The turtle burrows into the ground, where it can sleep for a long time without rising to the surface. Oxygen is obtained by special membranes in the cloaca and oral cavity.
Turn off additional lighting
. The pet will have to go to the bottom to maintain warmth, so turn off the filtration and monitor the water level. Excessive movement will destroy the thermal layer, and a low water level will lead to freezing to the very bottom.
Avoid feeding
. Thanks to slow digestion, the turtle digests the food eaten the day before over the course of several months.
Monitor your pet's well-being
. Domestic turtles fall asleep as early as November, when daylight hours begin to shorten, and sleep for about 4 months. It happens that the reptile does not wake up even in February. In this case, you have to wake up the pet yourself.

If the turtle looks active or it is February, then gradually increase the temperature and light to normal. The recovery period takes from 5 to 7 days.

You can feed your pet only after returning to normal activity, but not earlier than the 5th day.

Rules of detention and causes of mortality

No matter how strange it may sound, the main cause of death of red-eared turtles is the breeders themselves. Today, many people have such pets. But unfortunately, novice breeders make a lot of mistakes that lead to death. This is all due to improper maintenance and care of pets. At home, many owners have turtles that are not able to live even 5 years.

Initially, you need to clearly know that turtles are cold-blooded. This means that their existence directly depends on the temperature and microclimate in their terrarium. Animals cannot independently regulate their body temperature, such as dogs or cats. The optimal temperature range for red-eared turtles is from 26 to 35 degrees. This is precisely the value found in natural conditions in ponds and other reptile habitats.

All this means that the temperature regime cannot be left to chance by breeders. The room in which the aquarium with the reptile is located should not be the main indicator for keeping it. After all, if the room is approximately 25 degrees, then the water temperature will be several degrees lower, and this is below the required norm.

When buying red-eared turtles, which live mostly in water, you should carefully approach the issue of maintenance and think through the conditions for this in advance. The reptile's home is a large aquarium with an island of land or a terrarium. For one individual, it will be enough to buy or make an aquarium of 200-250 liters, with 100 liters of volume in water. If there is a pair of reptiles, then the parameters will need to be multiplied in half.

The island itself with land must be located on approximately 3 parts of the entire bottom area. It is made from glass, stone or wood. It all depends on preferences or materials that are available to create with your own hands, in addition, the entrance to the island should be smooth, and all surfaces should be rough. To prevent the turtle from dying prematurely, it is created from natural materials or from those that are not toxic. You also need to additionally equip a ladder for entry.

It is also not allowed to use soil in an aquarium. And if it is used, then it should be twice as large as the reptile’s head. Turtles simply love to taste everything, as a result they can swallow any decorative element or small stones. The result may be suffocation or disruption of the gastrointestinal tract, which ultimately leads to death.

You should be no less careful when handling large elements of decoration. Although turtles are not always large, they are very strong and can break an aquarium with a stone or figurine.

Each island with land must be equipped with special ultraviolet lamps, at a height of approximately 30 cm. They are necessary to maintain the health of the turtle, as well as for the warming up and normal development of the pet. You will definitely need to install a heater in the aquarium. This is because the water must be within a certain temperature range.

All turtles are quite sloppy and create a lot of dirt around themselves. However, they love clean water. Therefore, breeders should buy an additional cleaning filter, which will have double the supply. In other words, if there is 100 liters of water in the aquarium, then the filter should be 200 liters and so on. When changing the water in the terrarium, you should only use settled water. It is prohibited to use water that has been passed through a household filter. Typically, this purification adds silver to the water to remove infections and bacteria. All this slowly poisons the turtles and, as a result, intoxication and failure of the animal’s internal organs begins. After this comes death.

How long does the red ear live and where does it live?

This type of turtle can rightfully be considered a long-liver. In favorable conditions, life expectancy is 40 years. An interesting fact is that the red-eared turtle has a high level of intelligence, not typical of other reptiles. These animals are very sensitive to vibrations and their behavior can warn of an impending earthquake or storm. When choosing food, the red-eared turtle first focuses on the color, and only then on the smell and taste of the object.

These reptiles are widespread in nature. They can be found in their natural environment in Central and South America, Israel, South Africa, Spain and even Great Britain. But in Australia, this species is officially recognized as a pest, since it destroys local endemics. The red ear lives in shallow ponds and lakes, and in other bodies of water with swampy shores.

Keeping this exotic animal turns out to be much more difficult than initially thought. These turtles spend most of their time in the water, although they need land. For one adult, an aquaterrarium with a volume of 120-150 liters will be comfortable, while land should occupy no more than 25% of the total area. On the improvised bank, special soil or crushed stone should be poured, making a gentle rise. The turtle's shell must fit completely in the water so that the animal can easily roll over onto its back and back.

For this type of amphibian, the optimal temperature is 25-30 degrees Celsius. When the temperature drops to 20 degrees, hibernation may occur in red-eared turtles. The water in the aquarium is changed as needed, at least once a month. In order for the turtle to be healthy, it also needs to be provided with portioned irradiation with an ultraviolet lamp.

Proper nutrition is the key to longevity

If the turtle died, but the aquarium, temperature conditions and other rules were observed, then perhaps the owner used the wrong diet, which killed the pet. One of the causes of death may be the use of only special reptile food. Such food should not be used as the main diet. It is recommended to use any dry food for fish or turtles as a treat for your pet and give it in dosed form no more than once a week.

An equally common cause of death is frequent consumption of moths. They can cause your pet to become infected with many diseases. If the moth is stored incorrectly or bred in the wrong conditions, then it is not only harmful, but also brings fatal diseases. It is better to completely exclude such a product from the diet if you are not sure about it.

It is recommended to feed your pet raw fish. In this case, you can use both sea and freshwater, preferably low-fat varieties. It is prohibited to feed trout, salmon, capelin and other types of fatty fish. Also, the basis of a proper diet includes poultry and beef by-products; you can give seafood, such as squid or shrimp. When giving your pets fish, you do not need to clean it or remove bones. They contain many useful vitamins and elements.

By using a healthy diet, you can achieve positive results for your turtle's health. It is imperative to remember that it is strictly forbidden to feed lard, skin or meat with greasy streaks. Reptiles are designed in such a way that they will not be able to digest such a product, nor do they have the ability to regurgitate it. As a result, they may become ill, digestion may be impaired, and even death may occur.

From plant foods, you can feed your pet lettuce, carrots, cabbage and dandelions. It is also possible that they may be fed duckweed or various types of algae. During the summer, you can feed some beetles, worms or insects. Such products can be easily stored in a refrigerator in a glass container. For long-term preservation, you should put tea leaves inside. In this case, every day the worms will need to be washed under running cold water and can be used to feed them constantly.

Alternatively, the worms can be frozen. Before serving them to your pet, you will need to rinse them under highly salted water or wash them in a light solution of manganese. Pets get significant amounts of calcium, carbohydrates and proteins from insects and worms. It can also improve and strengthen your pet’s overall health.

For proper and balanced nutrition, it is recommended to make your own food based on gelatin. To do this, you will need to mince carrots (70 g), cabbage and apple (50 g each), any permitted fish (140 g), squid fillet (100 g), and egg (2 pcs.). Then add milk and water (150 g each) to the resulting slurry. You first need to dissolve gelatin (30 g) in them and add Tetravit (20 drops). After this, add a couple of eggs and mix. Then the food is sent to a refrigerator to harden. Before serving, the food should be cut into pieces and allowed to warm up a little. This food is enough for 10 meals for an adult.

As for the feeding schedule, pets under 2 years of age should be given food every day, and the dose should be such that the turtle can eat in a maximum of 30 minutes. For reptiles over 2 years old, food is given 3 times a week, in the same amount. The main thing is to avoid overeating so that your pet does not become obese.

It is better to feed your pet from a separate container so that the water does not become clogged. All products that enter the water turn into a variety of bacteria, fungi and can cause infectious diseases and even death.

Using all the rules described, you can exclude causes of death. And since the pet is not land-dwelling, you should definitely monitor the purity of the water.

How to understand that a pet has died

If it happens that the reptile shows no signs of life, then you need to know how to detect death. There are several ways to do this, but it should be noted that all of them will be stressful for a living creature and can provoke diseases.

Below are all the possible signs of how to tell if your pet is alive or dead:

If the reptile is kept in a cold environment in its home, hibernation has begun, the pet was transported in a container without additional heating, then the animal should initially be heated. To do this, just heat or add warm water. It is important that the reptile does not choke or drown. After this, it can be placed next to a heating source, in other words, under a lamp. If, after the operations performed, there are no signs of life and activity, then the pet may be dead. But it is better to use additional verification measures.
You should check your pet's reflexes. The cornea of the eye and pain thresholds manifest themselves perfectly. To test reflexes using pain, you need to take a needle and prick the reptile’s paw a little. If there are reflexes, then she will simply pull her paw and begin to move it. To test reflexes, stimuli should be generated on the cornea. Then the centuries will begin to open and close. To do this, you need to carefully touch the cornea with a blunt metal object. If the eye shows no signs, then this means that the turtle has died.
You can also check using an oral examination. To do this, you should open it and look at the shade of the mucous membrane. In a living reptile it should be pink, perhaps pale or bright, it all depends on the condition of the reptile. A dead individual will have a blue color with gray tones. You can also look at your breathing movements by examining your mouth. This can be seen in the larynx, which must open and close. If the larynx is closed and does not move or is constantly open, then most likely this is a sign of death.
Once a turtle has died, its mouth will remain open, even if the owner no longer examines it.
You can determine whether a turtle is alive using its heartbeat. True, such an inspection cannot be performed at home. To do this, you need to call or go to the veterinarian.
Sometimes sunken eyes are also a sign of death. But it is better not to use this method for a single check, because it is not accurate.
And the last thing is the appearance of a foul odor from the pet. It appears when the flesh has already begun to decompose.

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Death of turtles, signs and ascertainment of death

Like any other creature on the planet, a turtle can die. This happens due to illness, improper maintenance, old age. Death from old age is extremely rare, especially when maintaining a home. Typically, by the time a turtle reaches adulthood, a number of diseases accumulate and make themselves felt. To prevent premature death, you need to carefully monitor the condition of your pet, create all the necessary conditions for keeping and feeding it that are close to natural. And in case of malaise, apathy, lack of appetite or other alarming signs, contact a veterinarian-herpetologist. At the initial stage of the disease, the percentage of successful treatment is higher.

But often in an animal like a turtle it is difficult to determine whether it is really dead or in a state of hibernation or coma. In doubtful cases, it is better to leave the turtle for a day and then identify it again (usually after this period the picture becomes clearer).

To do this, we will describe some criteria by which you can make a conclusion about the condition of the turtle.

If the turtle was kept on a cold floor, terrarium, or was in a state of hibernation, transported in a container without heating, then first such an animal must be warmed by placing it in warm water (but so that the turtle does not drown or choke), and then under a heating lamp . If no activity occurs after this, then evaluate the following points.
Determine the presence of reflexes. Particularly indicative are the corneal reflex and the pain reflex. To determine the pain reflex, you can prick the turtle's paw with a needle; if there is pain, the turtle withdraws its paw and moves it. The corneal reflex is expressed in the closing of the eyelid in response to irritation of the cornea. That is, it is necessary to touch the cornea and determine whether the turtle reacts to this by closing the lower eyelid.
The next thing you can do is open the turtle's mouth and evaluate the color of the oral mucosa. In a living turtle it is pink (can be pale or bright pink depending on the condition), in a dead turtle it is bluish-gray (cyanotic).
When checking the color of the mucous membranes in the mouth, the presence of respiratory movements can be assessed by the opening and closing of the laryngeal slit at the base of the tongue. The laryngeal fissure opens during inhalation and exhalation, the rest of the time it is closed. If there is no movement of the laryngeal slit, or it is constantly open, then most likely the turtle is no longer breathing.
If after you open your mouth, it remains in this open state, this already indicates that the turtle has rigor mortis.
Unfortunately, it is impossible to determine the heartbeat at home without special medical equipment.
Sunken eyes can be an indirect sign of death. But, of course, you shouldn’t use it as the only sign.
At the stage of cadaveric decomposition, a characteristic unpleasant odor appears from the animal.

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If you have any questions about the care or your pet requires veterinary care, please call 8 (917) 526-49-72.

Herpetologist Anastasia Agafonova