Turtles are quite fascinating creatures, they spend time in the water and the land and enjoy both just the same, but your turtle may start swimming oddly and you may be confused as to why that happens
This article looks into why your turtle is swimming upside down.
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Why is my turtle swimming upside down:
Your turtle swimming upside down is definitely an odd behavior. It is something you’d understandably worry about and something that you would need to look into.
Here is why your turtle may be swimming upside down.
Illness:
One of the reasons why your turtle may be swimming upside down may be that the animal has a respiratory infection.
One of the signs of this illness in your pet turtle is the animal swimming oddly. This happens because respiratory infections affect the turtle’s ability to regulate its buoyancy
The turtle will start off by swimming to the side and this swimming to the side will cause the animal to flip over and swim upside down.
A turtle who is doing this will likely get stuck quite a lot while swimming in this way because it is unnatural for the animal.
Other signs that indicate that your pet has a respiratory infection is: eyelid swelling near swelling, nasal discharge, eye discharge, wheezing, labored breathing, listlessness, basking more than normal, nasal discharge, and bubbling from the mouth.
What to do:
If you think that your pet turtle has a respiratory infection then you would need to take the animal to the vet as soon as you can.
If you can’t immediately get the animal to the vet you can keep it isolated at home until you can get it to the vet
Isolating the animal will keep it from infecting other turtles and will keep it from having to compete for food and water, with the other turtles, while it is sick
It is also recommended that you turn the temperature up in your pet’s enclosure if the animal is ill, this will help the reptile fight off the infection.
You can raise the ambient temperature by covering the animal’s tank to keep the warmth in the tank
Once you get your pet to the vet, the vet will physically examine the animal and run tests on the animal to determine if your pet does in fact have a respiratory infection.
If it is found that your pet has a respiratory infection then the animal will be given antibiotics for the infection. If you don’t get your pet to the vet to be treated then it may develop pneumonia.
In addition, a turtle that is floating upside down and can’t right himself up can be dangerous as the animal can drown in this position
The water is too low:
Another reason why your turtle may have flipped and may be swimming upside down may be because the water in the enclosure is too low and the reptile can’t flip itself right side up
Any healthy turtle should be able to flip itself over with no problem but if the water is too low then there may not be any room for your pet to flip itself over
What to do:
You’d need to raise your pet’s water level high enough to where the animal can flip itself over, but when doing this, be cautious that you don’t fill the water up too much
If you fill the water up too much then the animal may escape out of the enclosure
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 Restless While Sleeping, Why Do Turtles Put Their Feet Up, Why Is My Turtle Restless While Sleeping, My Tortoise Is Not Responding, Why Is My Tortoise Stiff, Hit My Turtle With A Lawn Mower, What Happens When You Drop A Turtle On Its Back?, Can Turtles Survive A Fall?, Turtle Bleeding From The Bottom Of Shell