Your pet turtle is likely quite entertaining to watch but seeing odd behavior in these animals may be quite concerning and worrying to you, odd behavior includes your turtle leaning to one side.
This article is a look at why your turtle is leaning to one side.
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Why is my turtle leaning to one side?
Leaning to one side is not normal, in humans, this means that something has affected our sense of balance, but what does it mean in turtles?
Here is why your turtle may be leaning to one side:
Respiratory infection:
If your turtle is leaving to one side then this means that your pet is suffering from a respiratory infection. Leaning to some side while swimming is a major symptom of respiratory infections in turtles.
This condition is generally caused by bacteria and can be secondary to a vitamin A deficiency.
If you’re raising an aquatic turtle then this condition may have developed because the filtration system used to clean the animal’s water is not working properly and has allowed bacterial growth in the water.
The animal’s body tilts to one side when it’s swimming because the tissue of the diseased lung is heavier than the tissue of the healthy lung. This happens because fluids fill into the diseased lung.
All of this results in buoyancy issues and this results in lopsided swimming
Other signs of this condition include bubbles coming from the animal’s nose or mouth, nasal discharge, lack of appetite, wheezing, open-mouth breathing, an extension of the neck to breathe, lethargy, and a loss of appetite.
Not only will this condition cause the above symptoms but if it is not treated then the condition can turn into pneumonia which is deadly for turtles.
What to do:
You should immediately increase the temperature in the animal’s enclosure, this should help with fighting off the infection if you can’t immediately get the animal to the vet.
Raise the water temperature to about 83.6 to 84.6 degrees Fahrenheit, also, increase the ambient temperature to about 75 degrees Fahrenheit, and increase the basking spot temperature to 80 degrees Fahrenheit
You would also need to separate this sick turtle from the healthy turtles, this will keep the other turtles in the enclosure from getting sick
Get the animal to the vet as soon as you can to have them confirm that your pet has this condition and get treatment.
Avoid using over-the-counter medications to treat your pet without the vet’s guidance. Keep your pet’s environment optimal to minimize the chances of your pet getting sick with this condition again.
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: Why Is My Turtle Orange?, Why Is My Turtle Extending Its Neck?, Why Is My Turtle Sticking His Neck Out?, Why Is My Turtle Lazy?, Why Is My Turtle Scratching His Neck?, Why Is My Turtle’s Neck Peeling, Why Is My Turtle’s Neck Red?, Why Is My Turtle On Its Back?, Why Is My Turtle Neck Swollen?