Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Just like the guy who posted a couple posts below me,,,,my common snapper hatchling will not stop basking...He will spend forever on the log...looking dead. But when i put him back in the water....he is fine....

I checked the water quality...I change it once a week.

temperature is fine.

heater is not broken.

everything is fine...

Why is he doing this? Should I remove the log?

That was me.
My leucistic alligator hatchling is still doing it. I thought it was to get heat or something, but he's out of the water at night too. So its not a basking thing.
My water is clear and clean.
I don't get it.
At least this weekend , when I put him back in the water , he ate a bunch of pellets.Tha made me feel a little better.
Then a half hour later, he's out of the water. Been there 2 days. Always looks dead. I have to move him a little each day to see if he's still alive. Like I said before, this guy used to be the most active in the tank. The other 4 regular alligator snappers seem fine.Never leave the water.Its still driving me nuts.

I must say that is an interesting behaviour. Hatchling snappers do not normally bask in the wild, but they will float on the surface exposing their back to the sun. Adult snappers bask more than you would think, but they're more sneaky about it than even the wariest painted turtle.
Excessive basking is not really a problem, as long as everything else checks out.
-mike

Its not really a basking thing. And I'm getting worried again. Mine hasn't moved for 2 days now literally. He's still alive, but doesn't look good. I thought it was a basking heat thing, but he's up there all night never moving.

This is the one hatchling that was always first in line for food and moving around.
Again, the heater seems fine ( the 3 other guys in the tank are fine)
Water is clean, food available.

One of my other forum friends suggested a turtle vet. I really think this guys has some sort of problem. Are there people that specialize in things like this? This guys is only 2" . I know my regular dog vet wouldn't have a clue.

I'm going to call John again in Missouri today, but last time he kind of said he didn't have any ideas.
These guys are so hardy, I've never really had any problems and I'm not sure what to try. There is a bigger reptile store in the suburbs here . maybe they know a good vet. Are there antibiotics or anything you could add to water as a general help?
No experience wth this.

Thanks to forum help, I've got an appointment with a vet tomorrow morning.
The guys is actually really close to my house. Specializes in reptiles and exotics.
This thing is just worth too much and also a very cool little turtle.
I'll let you guys know results.