Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a 3-4" Alligator Snapping Turtle and he always sits on a rock out of the water. He looks very dry. If I remove the rock, he'll climb onto plants or whatever he can to stay out of the water. He is eating. The water appears clean/clear and I use chems to knock out chlorine. I have treated for bacteria/parasites/fungus- No Change. The pH is around 6.something. Oh, he is also in with a Spiny Softshell, same size. Roughly 30 gallons of water w/ filter and jet head.

This isn't normal, right? Any Suggestions??
Thanks.

Alligator snappers are not the great swimmers that softshells are. How DEEP is the water? I would keep a 3-4" AST in 6-8" of water, maybe a little more if there were plants or rocks it could hang out on under the water.

The water is probably 12-14" deep, but there are a couple of ledges at various depths, the shallowest at just a couple inches deep. Also, he's been staying out of the water basically all day, not just to catch a breath.

Could the power head be providing too much water circulation?

Also, he doesn't dive into the water when I enter the room. He just sits there. He's looks very lethargic. But when I put him in the water he swims and hunts for fish, but when I return he'll be right back out again.

This has been going on for a week and half, maybe 2. i have seen him catch and eat fish in this time, so he is eating some.

I would guess that between the deep water and the power head your turtle is pretty worn out from swimming to stay alive. Try putting it in another enclosure without all the current and depth. The softshell can handle that stuff NO PROBLEM but an AST-- not good!

I'll give that a try.
Thanks for the input.

You're welcome! Please let me know how things work out.

My sister had this same problem with her turtle, and found out that she was keeping her temps to low 78*. And when she turned up the temps to 84* the turtle started staying in the water. She keeps the water at a level where the turtle can reach the surface from the bottom of the tank by riseing on its back legs and reaching up. there are also several different levels of plastic plants and rock formations in the tank. Hope this is helpful. Jack

84? yeah, i think i'm around 80. i'll try boosting it a little. i removed the power head and that seems to have helped, although i can tell it's going to mean that i have to clean the bottom more (the head helped ciculate the crap to the filter). oh well.

thanks folks.