Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: WHITE SHELL! HOW DO I CURE THIS?

[william]

Hello to all!

This is William from Greece, owning 2 RES about 6 months old. Last month or a bit more i had neglect to buy vitamins or calcium, which i did yesterday, and my RES shell has turned a lot white. One of the 2 is the last 2 days very slow at her moves with no too much energy, even at lunch time...
Except of vitamins and calcium anything else i can do to help them? i have a very big acquirium with the right amount of water, light etc...and only those 2 RES inside which i favor a lot

Hope i can save them, especially the one which seems more sick..

Your advice which be very much appreciated

Kind regards
William

[steve]

Hi William, can you post a picture of the white shell? White areas are usually fungus, but can also be shell rot, mineral deposits or coloration from chemicals.

[william]

Thank you for your answer Steve. i will take some pictures, sure. im very sorry because before i buy those 2 RES i read the basics, bought a huge tank, 200lt (of course filled just 15-20cm, lamps etc. what i neglected to do is buy vitamines as soon as they run out. Yesterdy i bought vitamines and also some calcium. I dont think i will save the one of them... split them yesterday as its barely moves:-( not mentioning that she couldnt eat at all...anything i can put on her shell or something else i can do?

Also i wanted your advice as i was thinking to buy 3 more. At the tank now its only the one which has less white coloured shell and is 100% active, can she spread the disease to the new turtles? i was thinking to buy them tomorrow after i clean up the water first... such a big house is shame not to have more residents, i just want to provide them the right conditions to avoid further losses...

regards
William

[happycamper]

So that equals about 50 gallons? I would definitely not get 3 more turtles. I have a single male turtle in a 55 gallon tank, and he need to upgrade to a 75 eventually... and that is just one turtle. They get big!

[steve]

Fungus and shell rot are contagious. If you have hard water, then all your RES will have mineral deposits. You can get as many turtles as you want, however you must have the resources to keep them in separate tanks if necessary. Since that is not realistic for anyone, I would concentrate on the one you have.

[iliketurtles]

Hi. I would say that the most important thing to prevent shell problems is that the turtles need proper lighting, and if possible, some sunlight because this helps them shed their shell and also kills fungi and bacteria.
I have never bought vitamins for my 4 year old male RES and he has always had a healthy shell, but I have always put UV light in his basking area and I even take him out into the sun occasionally.
Steve, would you agree with this?

[steve]

I've not come across any information that suggests sunlight can kill fungi or bacteria. A problem with shell fungus is that it permeates through the scute. Basking and water quality would help prevent fungus but does little once it starts. Sunlight, in general, is great as a UVB source for turtles.

[william]

I really appreciate you help. Message taken, i will not buy more turltles at the moment. I have UVB light and i'll definitely put her out at the sun, mostly during w/d for 2-3h max per day if i've read this correctly! For the moment although i live in Greece, weather is messy,about 10 C degrees these days, but its a matter of time until sun and warm weather comes back, considering the difficult economic situation our country is into sun and sea are among the few precious goods we still enjoy:)