I’m writing a story, and in the story I need the main character’s box turtle to die. The turtle is only about a year old. However, the main character took very good care of it, so I need a reason why it would suddenly die.
If you took good care of a turtle, why would it suddenly die? Are there any health problems that turtles are prone to?
Any info appreciated. Thanks very much! 
If it was truly well taken care of, it would not suddenly die.
Turtles generally do not have health problems that are not easily preventable with proper care.
My suggestion for the story is to have the cat, dog, or little brother kill the turtle somehow.
If it was truly well taken care of, it would not suddenly die.
Turtles generally do not have health problems that are not easily preventable with proper care.
My suggestion for the story is to have the cat, dog, or little brother kill the turtle somehow.
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Turtles must be in to the forests… she dies because she was missing her home…
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Turtles, like most reptiles, are prone to mites and other bacteria in the stomachs (if they’re taken from the wild). The only other thing that comes to mind, though, would be mouth-rot.
NOT a nice way to go– its usually a rather large sore on the mouth, assuming it doesn’t swell, and will keep the reptile from eating as it normally would, causing it to eventually starve to death if it isn’t put under control.
So… in short, no. Nothing that would be of worry if the animal is well taken care of.
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The character’s little brother kills it ~
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99.9% of reptile deaths are caused by environmental factors. While box turtles are not exactly prone to any genetic conditions, heart failure is a possibility that could not be predicted or prevented. Mites, ticks, and leeches on turtles are fairly common (although leeches are rarely found on terrestrial turtles such as boxes), but any decent owner would recognize and treat them before they caused a health risk. Infectious stomatits (rots such as mouth, scale, and shell rot) are also a possibility, but are only caused by environmental factors (not cleaned enough, too wet, too dry, or fungal / bacteria exposure) and are completely treatable.
There is something else– there is such thing as a genetic strain of metabolic bone disease, which is normally caused by a calcium deficiency. In extremely rare cases, a lizard or turtle will be born with the inability to absorb and process vitamin D3, which is necessary for calcium synthesis. Similar to genetic diabetes. If I were you, I’d stick with heart failure, though. There have only been a few recorded cases of genetic MBD in reptiles and it is extraordinarily difficult to diagnose.
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