Musk Turtle Changed Colour

[Carol123456]

i have a three year old musk turtle that I've had since he was a hatchling, unfortunately in June I moved and in between houses I had to entrust him to a local reptile store, and only just got him back.

I am now worried because he has changed a lot, he was mostly black when I had him but now he's got a weird leopard print and his shell is paler, when I asked them about it they told me that he's been shedding a lot. He's also lost a lot of weight.

He's not shedding as much now but I am still worried, also I have never heard of musk turtles changing colour so dramatically before, to be honest when I first got him back I accused the shop of swapping turtles, I barely recognise him..

Has anyone got any advice on this? Ever heard of anything like this? My partner thinks it's something to do with puberty, or the fact that the store also had a small croc and the proximity of it might have made him go wild..

Thanks

I will be adding pictures soon

 

[Yvonne G]

Musk turtles pretty much look the same when they hatch out of the egg as they do as an adult turtle. My guess is the pet shop has switched turtles on you. does he look like this:

and did he used to look like this:



Two totally different types of musk turtle.

 

[Anthony P]

I don't know, it is tough to say. How long did they have him? It should be said, that new growth on turtles is lighter in coloration than older shell towards the areola of each scute, so, as a turtle grows, they may sometimes look lighter in coloration. I'm not saying that's what happened, but it's a point that should at least be thrown out there. Sick turtles, or turtles with fungal issues can also be lighter in color.