My terrapins' shell became white..any idea why??

Question

Their shells became white and isnt the normal green anymore, who has any idea why?? Please do tell!!

Answer 1

I will assume you have a RES, red ear slider, the most common green turtle in the pet trade. N.B. we call terrapins turtles in North America. So, when I say turtle, I am referring to freshwater turtles, aka terrapins.

There are two most common reasons for a turtle for having a white shell. It is either shedding scutes, outer keratin layer grows and air pockets gets underneath it. This is natural and you do not need to change or do anything special.

The other common problem is having hard water. Minerals will get trapped under the scutes and it looks unsightly, but not unhealthy. The best way is to get water softener to treat your tap water. When the turtle sheds, it will lose some of the whiteness from the hard water, but unfortnately, it will keep coming back until you soften the water.

Here is an article from ATP on shell problems. It has pictures of a RES with mineral deposits and fungus.
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

If you have a picture, I will be able to help more and make certain what it is. Good luck.

Cheers,
JJ

Answer 2

This either means a fungus or something has grown over it, or the colorful scales have fallen off.

In either case, it is pretty serious. If the scales have fallen off and it is a bone-like substance showing, the turtle needs a lot of help. You may wish to consider a vet.

You can try a self-care plan to see if it helps, but I would not try it for too long if it does not give results.

1. Double check your turtle's cares at a good site like http://www.austinsturtlepage.com Make sure everything, including the diet, is rock solid because if you try to treat this and whatever caused it is still around, it will just happen again.

2. Take your turtle out of the tank and gently scrub the shell to remove any dirt, loose fungi or debris. Swab the shell with Betadine Solution, undiluted, and let dry for a few hours.

3. Take the tank and clean it totally. Throw out what cannot be sterilized, and sterilize everything else with dilute bleach, baking, or boiling. Rebuild the tank per the guidelines at the website.

4. Add some Stress Coat with Aloe Vera (a fish medicine) to the water and boost water temps about 5 degrees- usually to about 80-85F.

5. Return the turtle to the tank and leave it as alone as possible.

6. Rescrub and reswab daily. It can take a month to see healing from things like this, but if something does not change in about a week, I'd take it to a vet.

Answer 3

White indicates two things, shell rot/fungus or mineral deposits.

First of all, DO NOT scrub your turtles shell. All that will do is agitate and possibly pull of your turtles scutes..like pulling off your fingernails or your hair.

Mineral deposits are not a problem but are unattractive. It is caused by having hard water (water that has a lot of calcium and minerals in it) using products like reptisafe and dechlorinator may help reduce this effect.

Fungus/shell rot is a problem, however, and is often caused by not being able to dry off properly. In order to treat this you can buy a product known as Repti Turtle Sulfa Dip..or get hibiclense and diliute it by half with water. Use a Q-tip and allow turtle to remain dry for 15 minutes before rinsing off and putting back in tank. If the condition does not improve and there are pits you should probably see a Herp Vet.

This is a great link and also a great forum:
http://www.redearslider.com/shell_conditions.html

Good luck.

Answer 4

There are hundreds of diverse species of terrapin. i've got self assurance yours is the consumer-friendly slider or crimson eared slider....a delightful creature imported of their tens of millions as tiny babies that would improve to over a foot for the era of. they are not vicious. A turtle's regular experience is scent. He has been conscious of smelling your hand while being fed and co-workers that scent with nutrition. he's truly attempting to eat you !! do no longer hassle, its no longer very own. My tortoises do the comparable. purely shop you hands away. Oh, and please, in case you need to use dried nutrition Reptomin is the stuff. stay bugs are nice as are earth worms.

Answer 5

could be popping scales or not getting the proper uvb lighting

Answer 6

You didn't say what kind it was. How can anyone help you if you don't even tell what you have?

Answer 7

um ok
\im not sure wut that is exacly but maybe they are shedding
just a thought!