Turtles love the water, these water-loving reptiles use water for drinking, swimming, eating, and a variety of other things, but if your pet doesn’t swim then you’d understandably start to worry
This article looks into why your turtle doesn’t swim
My turtle doesn’t swim:
While turtles don’t live in water full time, the same way that fish do, they still need water and they still need to be swimming in it
Here is what you need to know if your turtle doesn’t swim:
It’s scared:
If you’ve just received your pet in the mail then it may be scared to swim because it is scared of its new environment.
A sudden change in environment is scary for turtles, they have no idea why their surroundings are suddenly different.
As a result of this, the animal may not move much or it may not swim much
What to do:
These animals will get used to the environment and realize that you aren’t a threat to them the longer they live in your home and the longer you take care of them.
Allow your pet to see you taking care of it. Avoid carrying it in these early days to get it to not see you as a threat
It’s used to shallow water:
If your pet is used to swimming in shallow waters, and you’ve recently brought your turtle into some deep water, then the animal may have forgotten how to swim because it never had deep water to swim in
Turtles in this condition will struggle to swim and will struggle to surface.
What to do:
Swimming is a skill that your pet turtle will eventually get the hang of, your pet simply needs some time to get used to it
Start off by creating a shallow body of water in your pet’s tank for it to swim in, increase the water by an inch every few days, this will slowly get the reptile used to swimming in deeper water
Your pet should be able to swim in deep water soon enough as you do this
Turtles who haven’t swum in a while are also likely to be out of shape and won’t have enough muscle mass to swim, so filling the tank up all the way and forcing the animal to swim won’t end well, you’d need to do this gradually
It is sick:
Another reason why your turtle doesn’t swim may be that the animal is sick. If your pet is sick then you’ll notice other signs of illness or distress.
What to do:
Take your pet out of the water and leave it out on land where it can dry dock. This will keep it from drowning in the water
Once done increase the temperature in your pet’s enclosure, this should create a fever which should help fight off whatever sickness your pet has
Finally, get your pet to the vet, there are a variety of illnesses that may be causing this lack of swimming so taking your pet to the vet would be the way to go.
Taking your pet to a reptile specialist vet is recommended, other types of vets who don’t have reptile experience may not be able to give your pet the care it needs.
If you don’t have these types of vets in your area you can request that your local vet take a conference call with a reptile vet to give guided care.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: My Turtle Got Bit By A Dog, My Turtle Has A Cut On Its Leg, Can Turtles Live In A Fish Tank, My Turtle Ate My Fish, My Turtle Is Getting Too Big, My Turtles Nails Are Too Long, Do Turtle Tails Grow Back?, My Turtle Bites My Other Turtle, My Turtle Can’t Swim,
