Why is my turtle's shell soft?

Question

I have read books and seen videos. She is I think 2 years old and is a Box Turtle

I do feed her eartworms. I don't think we have a vet for her. During summer I feed her food from the pet store. Since the backyard is pretty dry.

Is there a cheap way to fix this?

Answer 1

metabolic bone disease, and it's serious.

no matter how much calcium you give your turtle, it won't help unless she's got UVA/UVB lighting. UVA/UVB lighting is neccessary to create vitamin D3. Without Vitamin D3, the turtle cannont convert calcium to bone and shell.

Talk to your vet about a liquid calcium treatment and vitamin D3 supplimets. rep-cal makes one that is phosphorus free sold at most pet stores. Then get a strip light and at least a 5.0% UVA/UVB light. It will cost around $60 at the most.

Also, earthworms are a natural source of calcium and most box turtles will eat them. Give her a good variety of veggies and talk to your vet.

Answer 2

This is an EXTREMELY serious condition and can be life-threatening. Your turtle needs to see a vet asap. Think about your turtle's habitat. Where was it? did it provide him/her enough natural sun? also, are you giving your turtle a mixture of foods, especially calcium? The shell is actually part of the turtle's anatomy and made of bone, which is why turtles are so sensitive when you touch it or tap on it. Typically soft shell is caused by a lack of calcium and poor diet or being placed in an area that doesnt get it natural light. If you have to place your turtle in an area without sunlight, make sure to have an electric ultraviolet light. You can buy these cheap at walmart (under $20). Your turtle has probably been in some trouble for a while for its shell to get soft, so you are going to need some improvements to how you're taking care of him. If you caught this early enough, your vet might be able to give him some medicine and in time the soft shell can be reversed. Good luck to you and your turtle.

Answer 3

Soft shell in box turtles is usually dietary:
- Lack of calcium
- Poor calcium/phosphorous ratio
- Lack of vitamins and minerals
- Lack of ultraviolet B rays in the lighting.

Box turtles love space, warmth, humidity, sunlight, and 'bugs'. These things work together to keep our boxies healthy.

Basically, we want a big pen (4'x4' for an adult), heated to about 80 with a basking area of about 90. We want humidity in the 75-80% range- but a good supply of fresh air as well. The whole thing should be well-lit with a bulb that provides UV-B, but still have cool, shady hiding spots.

A good diet for a box turtle would be about 1/3rd bugs, worms, snails, etc., 1/3rd prepared box turtle food or a combination of things like cooked chicken, beefheart, high-quality pet foods, etc. and 1/3rd 'salad'- dark leafy greens, yard grasses and plants, berries, mushrooms, apples. etc.

Add a sprinkle of vitamins with B13 and a calcium supplement.

For more, try this site: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-easternboxie.htm

Answer 4

she's not getting a lot of calcium or has shell rot from too much water exposure. try to incorporate calcium in her diet and get calcium cartidges for the tank. for shell rot, increase the dry basking area and apply a topical medication available at pet stores to strengthen the shell. i have a red-eared slider but i think the symptoms are the same. here's an interesting site http://boxturtlesite.info/heal.html

Answer 5

it is dying . my tutles shell got soft and it died