Hello, I am looking for some advice on what went wrong with my baby yellow bellied slider. He (Toothless) is my first turtle, but I did plenty of research and question asking to ensure he was taken care of properly. I found him in October, I almost ran him over :-( He was brand new and it was far too cold for him to be outside. We had been considering getting a turtle as a pet, so I took him home. I kept him in a 10 gallon tank (I know he needs bigger, and we were going to get a bigger one when he got bigger). The filter is for a 20 gallon tank so he had ample filtration. The tank had enough water so he could swim around, a water heater was hidden under some river rocks to keep him from laying on it, so the water temp was ALWAYS stable (79º). He had a heat lamp and the UV light for basking. His basking area was easy to get to, and i kept all the rocks natural pond type rocks and river rocks were were way to large for him to ever dream of eating.
For 3 months or so he would only eat plants, so I always kept him stocked up on fresh plants, money wart was his favorite, and spinach. Recently, around 3 weeks ago he gained interest in eating freeze dried brine shrimp, so I fed him a couple of those every night. Then about 2 weeks ago I FINALLY got him to eat Zoo Med hatchling pellets. I was feeding him the pellets and shrimp each night if he was hungry. I fed him in a bowl to keep his water clean, he was always super eager when he saw the bowl enter his tank In addition there were 4 baby guppy feeders I out in there with him when I first got him but he never ate them so I just left them in there. Recently one went missing so I assumed he ate it because he had been chasing them around a lot.
Ok now to my point... :-(
Last night he went to sleep in the corner of his basking area instead of in the center or in the water like he usually does. I thought it was odd, but did not think too much of it. He was not hungry for 2 days but he was still very active and chasing the fish around and responsive to me if I approached his tank. Since he slept on his rock I put the heat lamp on that side so he wouldn't get cold. This morning he was dead :-( Do you think I overheated him? I mean wouldn't he just get back in the water if he got too hot? he looks like he died in his sleep :-( Eyes closed head tucked in a little back feet in, front feet out, like how he usually sleeps when on his rock but not in basking position. I have spent my entire day trying to figure out what i did wrong. I know we didn't have him long but we loved him so much, he was such a sweet little guy, and had an amazing personality. I just need some answers as to what I did wrong. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.
For 3 months or so he would only eat plants, so I always kept him stocked up on fresh plants, money wart was his favorite, and spinach. Recently, around 3 weeks ago he gained interest in eating freeze dried brine shrimp, so I fed him a couple of those every night. Then about 2 weeks ago I FINALLY got him to eat Zoo Med hatchling pellets. I was feeding him the pellets and shrimp each night if he was hungry. I fed him in a bowl to keep his water clean, he was always super eager when he saw the bowl enter his tank In addition there were 4 baby guppy feeders I out in there with him when I first got him but he never ate them so I just left them in there. Recently one went missing so I assumed he ate it because he had been chasing them around a lot.
Ok now to my point... :-(
Last night he went to sleep in the corner of his basking area instead of in the center or in the water like he usually does. I thought it was odd, but did not think too much of it. He was not hungry for 2 days but he was still very active and chasing the fish around and responsive to me if I approached his tank. Since he slept on his rock I put the heat lamp on that side so he wouldn't get cold. This morning he was dead :-( Do you think I overheated him? I mean wouldn't he just get back in the water if he got too hot? he looks like he died in his sleep :-( Eyes closed head tucked in a little back feet in, front feet out, like how he usually sleeps when on his rock but not in basking position. I have spent my entire day trying to figure out what i did wrong. I know we didn't have him long but we loved him so much, he was such a sweet little guy, and had an amazing personality. I just need some answers as to what I did wrong. Any advice would be appreciated, thank you.