Turtle shell problems :(

[KrissyLeigh]

Hey y'all! Hopefully someone has some ideas - this is my southern painted turtle, Flash. I have had him one year and I believe he was only weeks old when I got him from a breeder. Healthy appetite, skin, clear eyes, but he has these white spots on his carapace that have been growing for months. They are not soft, they are not pinkish. I have treated a turtle with shell rot before, this does not present as that did.

Please see pictures attached - note, I know some of you will be critical of the coil uvb bulb but he has ONLY had that bulb about a month. Previously he had the tube uvb bulb, and I plan to go back to that style. Care as follows:

Food - zoo med and omega one brand daily
Water temp - 77 F
UVB - yes
Basking spot - yes, 80s-90s F - he also has a hual out spot that is at ambient room temp
Water changes - 100%, every other week, water is treated with water conditioner
Substrate - none
Filters - yes, 2 of them

Thanks y'all! He seems healthy, but his pretty shell is looking all rough!

 

[vladimir]

The whitish marks on the plastron look like hard water stains. It looks like he may be getting ready to shed some scutes soon too?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Agreed hard water. Also Looks like he's growing super fast, I would cut back the feeding to once every other day

 

[vladimir]

What are you feeding (and how much) by the way? You may want to try introducing more greens if you haven't already.

 

[KrissyLeigh]

The whitish marks on the plastron look like hard water stains. It looks like he may be getting ready to shed some scutes soon too?

He sheds pretty regularly, doesn't seem to impact the white marks. We do have really hard water here.

I am transitioning him from Omega One Natural Protein Formula for juvenile turtles to Zoo Med Natural Aquatic Turtle Food. I give him however much he will eat in about 7 minutes, daily - usually 15-20 of the Omega (tiny pellets) or 8 of the Zoo Med. He hasn't shown ANY interest in greens. Any suggestions for good ones to try? Thank you for the response!

 

[KrissyLeigh]

Agreed hard water. Also Looks like he's growing super fast, I would cut back the feeding to once every other day

Ugh. So to avoid it I have to use bottled water? What a pain!

Thank you for the response! How can you tell he is growing super fast? Is that bad? I thought they were supposed to eat every day until they were adults?

 

[Toddrickfl1]

The lines in between his scutes look kinda big and his head is a little smaller in proportion to his body. This is a sign of rapid growth, which could lead to health problems. It could just be the pic too. I believe they sell some kind of filter media bag that will help correct the hard water but I've never used one maybe someone else here could help you with that. Cut back his feeding to once every other day. Float greens for him to munch daily. Mine didn't want greens at first either but eventually they will start eating them

 

[vladimir]

I don't know that the hard water is harmful at all - I could be wrong. Mine like collard greens, kale, escarole, and various greens. I've tried some of the water plants from the pet stores but they get eaten so fast it's not sustainable.

 

[Markw84]

Those whitish spots are simply areas of the older scute that have not shed yet. Before an aquatic turtle sheds, the top layer - the older portion - of the scute begins to separate. This can go on over several weeks or more. The lifted area can get a small amount of water beneath it and look like what you see very visible along the midline of the second vertebral scute in your picture. Perfectly normal and a sign of a healthy turtle. What you see with the fourth left costal is a portion of retained scute. On the plastron, the markings on the turtle's left side looks like abrasion from crawling out on a basking platform or such.

All nice, and healthy looking.

 

[KrissyLeigh]

Awesome, thanks for the info y'all! I was worried because the marks haven't gone away... the one on the costal scute in the shoulder area has been there for months! Is it normal to retain the old scutes that long? Overall he seems to have healthy sheds.

I suspected the plastron markings may be abrasions - he used to have a brick in his tank as a basking spot, so I'm glad to hear that confirmed.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Regardless, Flash is quite the handsome man