What can cause a yellow bellied turtles shell to go soft?

Answer 1

Common causes include:
- Lack of calcium
- Poor calcium/phosphorous ratio in the diet
- No UV-B lighting
- Poor diet

In general, this condition signals some concerns with the basic cares. Soft shell is especially common when the diet is the old-fashioned lettuce and hamburger diet that is so bad for turtles.

Soft shell goes away when you find and correct the issues. It may take a while, and it may leave signs of condition for years.

You can find good care sheets and articles on proper care at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Answer 2

Lack of calcium in the water. Calcium is very important to a turtle's diet, not only to keep the shell hard, but also for their eyesight. You can add cuttlebone (the stuff for birds) to his diet, or throw a "water neutralizer" calcium block into his water every coupla months or so. This will help.

Try also to feed him tetra reptomin foodsticks. These have a lot of calcium in them.

Be patient once you start doing this. The shell doesn't all of a sudden get hard and it might take many months for him to recover.

I would recommend getting the little guy to the vet just to make sure there isn't anything else funky going on too.

Answer 3

Old age, poor nutrition, illness. The most common thing for this would be that he may be ill. If you are that concerned you should call a vet,

Answer 4

Pet stores carry stuff for weakening/soft shells... try that.

Answer 5

sick, Old or it could just have shedded it's old skin if it has grown any.

Answer 6

it sick or old