Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone,

I bought another baby southern painted today from a convention. If you read my last posts, the other baby I had died a day after I received him due to apparently some neurological disease. Anyway, I made sure I talked to the vendor carefully about this new baby. He selected one that had more fat, alert, clean eyes, hard shell, etc for me. Now that I've transported him back home I placed him in a new tank, but like the other painted that died, this new baby also went straight toward the basking branch. When he entered the water, he would swim frantically as if he needed to get out. After a while, he would go back to the branch and remain there. I have him in a new tank with a tiny stinkpot who seems to be exploring with interest. The water temperature is low 80s, dechlorinated, etc. Is there something about painteds that make them weaker when it comes to swimming as a hatchling? He doesn't dive, he just floats and paddles along. Should I turn off the basking lamp and keep him dark so he could adjust? I'm really hoping the same thing that happened to my previous baby will not happen again...=(

Thanks.
Johnny

Hi. I had the same problem with my four inch male painted turtle. I thought somethig was really wrong with him, I found out he was developing a respirotory infection I kept him in warm water and I also used a stronger light. He turned out to be ok. I would reccomend you keep the light on and keep it as warm as it can be.

good luck

Hmm...thanks for the advice.

I had the same logic too but my previous dealer told me that it should not be kept under a basking lamp because it would screw up his body rhythm cycle or something. And there are others who say they should be kept quiet alone in a dark place to slowly adjust before putting the light on, starting to feed him, etc. As of now, he hasn't gone back to the water...he's just sitting on the branch looking around slowly. I hope there's nothing wrong with him. He seemed strong and alert at the convention, but after our ride back, he just got all weak. As for the little stinkpot that accompanied him, he's wild as anything and has situated himelf quite nicely. The water depth btw is about 7 inches but being aquatics, I assume they can handle that. Are painted hatchlings frailer than most other aquatic species? I've had 2 others before him and they all ended up dying. The adults I've had have been very cooperative and are still with me today (10 years). Thanks.

Johnny

He's sleeping right now on the branch so I'm not going to turn on the basking lamp. Tomorrow I will turn the light on to see what happens. I hope I'm not cursed with raising painted hatchlings. I seem to do quite fine with other species (map, cooters, sliders, softshells, etc).

Johnny

With baby painted turtles, it is best to keep the water around 80 degrees, even though they are very hardy turtles, like all babies they are prone to respiratory infections. Second off make sure the water is only about 4 inches deep at most, and the water should be "still". allow him to build up his swimming capabilities and avoid him drowning. With the heat lamp situation, personally I would just keep him under a reptisun uv light and dont worry about the heat lamp for now. This is how my painted were raised and they are doing great. Hope this helps.

Coool...

I turned on the heat lamp since he seems to enjoy it on the branch (legs stuck out in pure basking mode..hehe). I will also scoop out some water because you were right, he was having trouble swimming in such relatively deep water. Yesterday, I turned off the tiny filter because the current was too strong...and blowing him off course...the water is still now so that should help. Thanks a lot you guys.

Johnny

Hi,

This is Johnny's girlfriend. I am also watching over the lil painted turtle while he's at work. Anyway, the painted turtle tried to jump into the water today. However, when he was in the water, he floated around a lot more than he swam. When he was floating, he still seemed very attentive, turning his head looking at his surroundings. When he would swim, it would be a frantic swim as if he's trying to go deeper but his body is forcing him to float up. Sometimes, he would take slower strokes but most of the time you just see his body floating. I watched him carefully to see if he was ok. Eventually, he climbed back up on the branch and is now basking again with his head turning around looking at his surroundings. I tried to put food right in front of him but he still is not going for it. Right now I am just concerned with why he swim very well yet.

Any ideas?

Johnny and Chi

I don't know what part of the country you are in or what type of painted turtle you have but I have kept Eastern Painted turtles for close to 20 years and the water temperature should definantly not be 80 + degrees. Closer to low 70's would be better. Even most of the springs in Florida where RES and painteds live never reach 75. In Pennsylvania where I live the water temp is much, much cooler even in the heat of the summer. I don't heat the water at all and in the winter the turtles metabolism slows and they eat less but they still will bask and swim around. Basking is critical for baby painteds, as is calcium supplementation - try baby crickets or small mealworms dusted with Herptivite and Repcal supplements. Make sure you have a few basking spots, one under a heat lamp (under 100 degrees) and one away from the lamp so the turtle can control its body temp. Also, basking areas should be completely out of the water and made of wood, not rock or anything else that heats up. Water should be dechlorinated, just leave it sit for a night before adding water and the chlorine will evaporate. Baby Painteds are prone to softshell if conditions are not correct. Best of luck to you with your baby turtle, I hope this helped.

Sorry, I didn't see the post below before I posted my last message. I would guess from what you said about the floating problem that the turtle was probably never in deep water before and is not acclimated to it. Some breeders don't provide deep water areas to avoid loss by drowning in overcrowded turtle bins.
Someone else mentioned to lower the water level, I would do that but set it up a gradient so that there is a deeper area but also a shallow area. This will let the turtle find its comfort level and still learn to submerge. I had the same problem with a very small RES I rescued from a Chinese restaurant that was kept in a 1/2" of water, it took about 3 months before it could submerge fully and a year before it started to grow. I still have her and she is very healthy now and growing like a weed.

Hi,

Thanks for the info, much appreciated. =)

I will try to keep the water cool or at least just have the UV bulb light on or the heat lamp at one end only. This is a southern painted so I had assumed it liked warmer temps compared to the easterns I have at home. But yea, the swimming condition seems to make sense. He tried diving today to get a worm at the bottom of the tank but it seems like he couldn't get down because his rear end keep staying afloat. He did eat 2 little worms that I held to him though so I'm glad.

I'm unsure about the temperature preference since he kept basking all day as if he was cold. Then again, I put a basking spot away from the heat lamp edge and he just climbed on to that one, away from the heat. Argh...so frustrating, but I'll be patient. =)

Thanks again.

Johnny

Lower your water temp to about 75-76 degrees. Painted turtles
seem to prefer cooler temps than most people think. My adults
act the same way after a cleaning if I add too much warm water.
They adults actually prefer about 70 degrees. Of course,
they utilize their basking area every day. It is about 85 degrees.

Let us know what happens.
Linda

Hey Linda,

I will try lowering the temperature...actually, it seems like it's around 75 or 76 in the morning, but I'm sure it's warmer on the basking branch. However, seeing that the turt kept floating and trying to get out of the water to bask, wouldn't it suggest some sort of respiratory problem? I mean, he's not swimming lopsided but seems unable to break the water tension due to floating upwards. My last dealer (who has yet to send his refund check..grrr) said I "didn't help" the dying baby by letting it bask under a heat lamp. This new turt isn't biting or scratching at his left side but he isn't too keen on swimming either...

Heh..sorry, I'm just a bit more concerned since the last baby gave me so much trouble. Thanks for all of your advice.

Johnny

other baby. I don't know what the dealer is talking about
when he says you should not let the baby bask. I always
provided an area from the time I got my hatchlings. I would
try lowering the water level so that he can touch the bottom
when standing up with legs stretched. You don't want it much
less than that or you run the risk of drowning if he becomes
overturned. Double check your water and basking temps and give
the little guy some quiet time to get adjusted. If you have
it in with another turtle, this may be upsetting him also. I
would try keeping him in his own little pond for a while, at least 3-4 months so he can adjust without any added stresses.

Keep up updated. Boy, I sure would like to get a baby Painted
Turtle but I already have 4 turtles, a tortoise and 2 Iguanas.
One I just adopted a month ago. They are sooooo cute though!!

Linda

Hey,

He ate the end of a foodstick last nite after a whole day of basking and not leaving the rock. Pretty cool. He's still weak though or just lazy because he doesn't swim, but rather paddles along and floats to his destination. When he DOES swim, it's frantic like he wants to escape. His back legs stick out and protrude above the water surface while his head is sticking out. I've read somewhere that adult aquatics master this technique for floating but I didn't expect a baby to do it so I'm wondering if he's just sick and the floating is a respiratory symptom. Anyways, after floating for a while, he's back on the rock and sunning again this morning. Hope he gets better. I offered him a tiny earthworm and he just stared at it but didn't touch it. Will try again today. I'm not giving up on this baby.

Johnny