Do you know of a "SAFE NON TOXIC" paint for turtle shells?

Question

Is their anything out their Like this? Has anyone ever done this or seen this?
We have Eight, Yes I said 8 turtles and were thinking we would give them so MORE personality. Temporary type paint would prob. be the best, but?
The winner to this question can have the points plus one painted as they want. :) ( Hommie, peace sign, car symbol, whatever! lol
Keep In mind we would never harm one of our family members (dogs or turtles) we were just curious, Thanks everyone!
Oh I forgot to say they are Red eared sliders, so they are mostly in the water exept when they come out to bask in the sun/ lights

again We would never harm our turtles,thus the question, to see a variety of answers and see if anyone else has done this. thanks

Thanks cowgirl and lexi! I will not do this! And I will continue to read more about this.
Again thanks!
~~~Westcoast~~~

Answer 1

Hey I did alittle research and there is a non toxic paint that they use for turtle shells your probally worried now because they were telling you its toxic exc BUT no seriously this stuff isnt even vets use it. here ill give you the site now you can read about it yourself. Ok well they are called Markal Paintstiks here the site
http://www.coxhardware.com/Products/Markal_Markers.html

The white marker is the most commonly ordered color, but a fluorescent marker can help in dim areas. And some enterprising marine biologists have used Markal paint markers to code the backs of the sea turtles they were studying, since the fade-resistant paint is safe for the turtles and can survive water and sun without disappearing.
Hope this helped out.
Shenea

Answer 2

Turtle Painting

Answer 3

Painting a turtle's shell can hurt it in several ways.

1.) Chemicals in the paint can poison the turtle or affect the skin (which IS alive under a top layer of dead tissue). In some cases, the paint chemicals and fumes can also contaminate the cage or water.

2.) The paint will not stretch and grow as the turtle does, which will cause the shell to deform. Reptile medical guides show several photos of shells damaged this way. It is most dangerous on smaller turtles with certain kinds of paints.

3.) The paint will interfere with the shedding of the outer layers of skin/shell.

For field biologists there are some safe 'marking' paints but these are usually bright orange or yellow, expensive, and not easily available.

Do not use spray paint or other oil, enamel, or latex based paints. Remember, the shell is a living, growing part of the turtle's body.

Answer 4

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Do you know of a "SAFE NON TOXIC" paint for turtle shells?
Is their anything out their Like this? Has anyone ever done this or seen this?
We have Eight, Yes I said 8 turtles and were thinking we would give them so MORE personality. Temporary type paint would prob. be the best, but?
The winner to this question can have the points plus one painted as they...

Answer 5

In the old days, people hurt baby turtles by painting the shells with a nail polish-like laquer. Not only did the solid layer of paint deform the shell as it tried to grow, it also seeped chemicals into the bloodstream.

Now, we have other options that are not harmful- if you do it right. After all, we can paint people, and we are far more sensitive to skin chemicals than turtles with their waterproof skin are.

A few points to maximize the safety:
- Use only paints you would feel comfortable using on your own skin. Acrylic is probably the best overall. It dries quickly, is non-toxic, colorful, semi-waterproof, and washes/rubs off easily.
- Don't cover the entire shell. Things like peace signs are better than bigger, more covering designs.
- Don't leave it on for more than a few days. Baby turtles grow pretty quickly, so take the design off soon. Bigger turtles grow slower so the design can be left on a little longer.

One nice thing about designs that involve lines or little blobs of color is that if they don't come off totally, they will wear off soon enough or come off with the next shed.

By the way- turtles DO NOT breath through their shells or skin, the shells ARE NOT porous, and unless the paint is inherently dangerous, DO NOT absorb through the shell. Learn some basic anatomy guys!

Answer 6

OMG! Thank you for asking this question. Please don't put any kind of paint on any turtle or tortoise shell. Their shells are porous and the paint will kill them. If the paint doesn't kill them, it will make them so sick you would wish they would have died. NEVER, paint a turtle's shell. Many people have done this with much regret. The paint is also difficult to get off due to the porous nature of their shells. Red Eared Sliders are water turtles. They can get quite large, the size of a dinner plate if they have room to grow. Provide a large aquarium or swimming pool so they have a large area of water to swim in, with room to exit the water and dry out their shells. Water turtles are very dirty, as they eliminate waste products in the water, so some type of filtration is needed to keep the water clean. They get to know their keepers and will beg for food. They are meat eaters, and because of this they carry Salmonella. Be sure to wash your hands thoroughly after handling any of these turtles.

Answer 7

Nope. Between the chemicals in the paint causing problems, the tough paint film will interfere with the normal growth of the schell tissues. Nail polish and Turtle wax are not good ideas either.

Answer 8

waterproof and non toxic turtle paint? never heard of it! Why would anyone make turtle paint?... OK, i just did reaserch and found some. I will tell you where to get it IF you email PROMISING that you are not doing this to be mean to the turtles and you will take great care of them. email is [e-mail]

Answer 9

no no no no no no! no painting on the turtle!!! they breathe thru their shell, it's porous. my son had a turtle named myrtle, lol, and ohhhh the things we learned when we had her!

Answer 10

mabe the paint they use for hermit crab shells....
u can by it at a pet store.