Turtle almost died

[MarcsReptileShed]

turtle was found stuck under decoration in tank, took him buut he was very limp and unresponsive, took him out and he is still breathing but not really moving around a whole lot, not being his normal self. Tried making water come out of his mouth by holding him head down. He is now sitting with his back legs sprawled out and pointing his head high and breathing. Not sure what to do now, i do not want him to die! Somebody reply asap

[MarcsReptileShed]

turtle was found stuck under decoration in tank, took him buut he was very limp and unresponsive, took him out and he is still breathing but not really moving around a whole lot, not being his normal self. Tried making water come out of his mouth by holding him head down. He is now sitting with his back legs sprawled out and pointing his head high and breathing. Not sure what to do now, i do not want him to die! Somebody reply asap this is my first reptile so everybody has the 1 that started it all

[Diamond Serpents]

Best thing to do here is try and keep him dry until he rebuilds his strength. If hes weak don't place him back in the water he will more then likely drown. Hopefully some one else has more suggestions.

[Diamond Serpents]

Keep him warm to with his basking light, still offer food and water to drink in dishes.

[WarriorPrincess90]

I would suggest taking him to a vet in the morning. He may have water in his lungs.

[MarcsReptileShed]

i put him in a rubbermaid with his basking light and water dish, hes semi aquatic so iddk what to do, he sank right to the bottom before i took him out of his tank. should i keep the light on alll night?

[Pyrate81]

I've never dealt with a partially drown turtle before but I'll try to help.

Aquatic/semi aquatic turtles are sometimes "dry docked" when they are sick, especially if a disease is fungal on the shell or skin. What this is is leaving the turtle in a dry box or enclosure of some sort for 24+ hours and bathing him in shallow water 2-4 times a day so his shell can get wet. Some people do this in a shoe box.

If he is putting his head up toward the sky, I'd say that could be a good sign but I don't know for sure. I would leave him in a separate enclosure over night w/o food or water and and on a towel of some sort. I say w/o food or water cause it's over night and if he goes to get a drink and can't lift his head out of the water, you just defeated the purpose of dry docking him. You want to keep stress levels down as much as possible, so I'd leave the light off as well and possible put something elevated in the tank so he can kinda hang his head and hopefully help get the water out.

I would call your herp vet in the morning if you do not get anymore/better advice from the forums.

Disclaimer: This stuff sounds logical to me for now as I have no experience with a drowned turtle but do have 15 years experience with them. If someone with this XP is available I encourage them to chime in.

[MarcsReptileShed]

i would love to take him to the vet but i dont have money for it at all, i can barely pay for lunch at work. i need sometthing like home remidies ive already held him up trying to get water out, i tried pulling his legs and pushing them, that didnt work cuz he wouldnt keep his legs still. ATM i have him in a rubbermaid container with a water bowl, and paper towels with his heat lamp on over him. this is my first reptile that started it all for me and he needs to be okay, hes moving but not acting normal he ussually tries to bite me every time i touch him but i could touch him any where even his nose and he didnt do anything, definately not normal. he is a yellow bellied slider if that helps at all. thank you for your fast reply!

[Pyrate81]

Take a deep breath and calm down. Things will turn out as they should. I said call the vet, not make an appointment. Perhaps they can give you advice over the phone.

I found this from a turtle forum I once frequented, it should help:

Sorry for the quick post, I just didn't want to waste time explaining why it should not be kept under a basking light after a near drowning event. It can take a turtle several hours to return to normal after nearly drowning, and placing it under a light source to keep it warm may seem like a good idea, but it really isn't. The turtle has very limited mobility during recovery, and you're running the risk of it fatally overheating while it's unable to move. Bubbling around the eyes or nostrils is common in turtles that are far too hot.

Plus, even if it's not that hot, you run the risk of the turtle moving itself back into the water while you're not looking, and unless fully recovered, it will quickly drown again. The best thing to do is keep the turtle in a dark box with a towel, and place that into a warm room. Check on it every few hours, and hopefully it will come around for you. It's very rare that they die if you are able to catch them in time before they completely drown, but a vet visit for any secondary issues that may crop up is a wise idea, also.

[MarcsReptileShed]

Thank you so much! Deffinately helps he is dry docked right now and hes a fighter so im hoping hell make it !