Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hello all,

I have 2 snake neck turtles of which 1 is fine and swims around on the bottom of the tank, coming up for air now and again, but the other has a bouyancy problem and it seems that he cannot get to the bottom and just keeps floating when he is not out of the water.
Therefore he tends to stay out of the water until feeding time and finds it hard to eat when he cannot swim properly.
He just bobs about catching food as it passes.
Is this a common problem and what can I do about it?
Any ideas will be greatly recieved. Thanks.

Excessive bouyancy can be caused by either a respiratory infection or by gastric problems.

If the turtle has a respiratory infection (RI) it tends to float on its side, ie either the left or right side is up. This will require veterinary treatment.

If the turtle is floating tail up and seems to be fighting to get down this id caused by dietry problems. It can be corrected by improving the diet of the turtle.

Cheers, Scott

Scott Thomson
Carettochelys.com

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Scott Thomson

If you believe you can or you can't you are always right.