Urgent Care :: Is this shedding, fungus, mucus, or something else?

[alkaiser]

So, if you've been keeping up with my threads I bought a new tank set-up complete with fitler, and new basking lights and docks.

Yesterday morning however, I was confused, as the tank water appeared cloudy and slimy after just 2 days of putting him in his new (Nearly full) 29 gallon tank.

Tons of Thin clear/white strips float around the water and I'm trying to figure out whether it's mucous or shedding, I've noticed he's showing more 'loose skin' than before, and he's been transported to what new, and expensive, living conditions. (http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2578)

Oh, and the new filter I bought isn't cleaning up his fecal matter, to make things worse. -.-

I was told by a couple people I may never need to clean my tank with a proper filter, but now I'm not so sure, you know, after 2 days and already seemingly needing a 20 gallon water change!

What could corrupt the water so fast?
Is he sick, or over shedding?
Why isn't my new filter picking up his 'skin/slime'?

Perhaps it's fungus, which is possible due to his lack of a proper basking area earlier on, but it just seems too loose and rampant to be fungus.

I've made up my mind to going to the vet, I just hope I'm not too late.

[alkaiser]

For the record, he seems to be enjoying himself despite his conditions.

I feel terrible though.

[jenaero]

It sounds like more of a filtration problem than a problem with your turt. After a complete water change and a new clean filter, the tank needs to cycle and will appear cloudy/dirty for a few days at least. There is always skin or something floating around in my tank so don't worry about that.

What kind of filter are you using? For turtles, the filter needs to be rated for about 3x the actual tank size. For a 30 gal tank, you want a filter rated for a 90 gal tank. The ratings are for fish and turts are much messier.

How is he looking? Is he swimming/eating/basking normally? Are his eyes and nose clear? If so, don't go rushing off to the vet to run up a bill only to find out you have inadequate filtration.

I'm going to add a disclaimer here; I haven't gone back to your other posts to see if you mentioned any actual signs of illness so I'm assuming there aren't any. If there are, then a vet trip would be a good idea.

[alkaiser]

It sounds like more of a filtration problem than a problem with your turt. After a complete water change and a new clean filter, the tank needs to cycle and will appear cloudy/dirty for a few days at least. There is always skin or something floating around in my tank so don't worry about that.

What kind of filter are you using? For turtles, the filter needs to be rated for about 3x the actual tank size. For a 30 gal tank, you want a filter rated for a 90 gal tank. The ratings are for fish and turts are much messier.

How is he looking? Is he swimming/eating/basking normally? Are his eyes and nose clear? If so, don't go rushing off to the vet to run up a bill only to find out you have inadequate filtration.

I'm going to add a disclaimer here; I haven't gone back to your other posts to see if you mentioned any actual signs of illness so I'm assuming there aren't any. If there are, then a vet trip would be a good idea.

He's been like this for a while, but his mood and habits do not seem to be changed.

I would also like to add a thin skin is starting to appear at the top of the water.

My filter is a Whisper In-tank filter 40i rated for 20-40 gallon aquariums. (I thought it was supposed to be rated 2x the amount)

I'm considering taking it back if what you say is true, if I can, because I was led to believe it would definently work for turtles of his size in a tank of the very size I purchased, as I bought it all at one time, and I was supposively dealing with an expert.

It's a huge filter but I did get a feeling it could have been inadequate

Also, I think my small filter is workking harder than my other one, because I saved it and had someone put it in the tank for a while to see what it could do and it seems to be collecting the most 'skin' despite it's ridiculously weak power.

[alkaiser]

I fished out some of the slime with my net and noticed that the thin lair on top of the water actually became the white slime I thought was skin, but now I'm not so sure that's what it is. (I continued fishing out some of the bigger peices and rinsed out the net until the tank was fairly clean, I don't want to empty my water just yet, but I will admit the amount of matter in the tank disturbed me.)

Mucus or fungus seems to be more likely, but I have no way of telling.

What is fungus like?

[ellman605]

have you ever felt a mushroom? thats what a fungus feels like, some are hairy, i'm pretty sure all are soft. But dont trust me, go to someone else who really knows

[alkaiser]

have you ever felt a mushroom? thats what a fungus feels like, some are hairy, i'm pretty sure all are soft. But dont trust me, go to someone else who really knows

I don't mean to be rude, but some forms of fungus can be similar to cotton or a spider web.

It's becoming more apparent that this problem of mine is something new equipment isn't going to fix. My turtle is causing all my water in all environments to be slimy, and the objects in it to have a grimy layer in less than 2 days, regardless of the amount of water contained. I buy new filter sponges, new filters, replace the water, even buy a new tank and it just keeps getting worse.

Maybe he has a disease like, make everything slimy and have a fungusy mucousy shell disease that no one knows about.

It's like a plague or something, theres nothing I can do!

It just keeps getting worse and worse, and I doubt I can take much more biweekly tank cleanings. The skin on my hands is worn down from all the soap I have to use just to keep myself clean.

Please, if anyone knows ANYTHING. Tell me.

I need information and I need it now.

[alkaiser]

It's just one problem after another...

What am I going to do!

[cam722]

I've not gone through all the posts in this topic and not sure if someone else has suggested this but sometimes new filters or other new equipment can cause that slimey layer on the water.

No filter will clean up fecal matter. That's something you have to do with either a siphon, a net or some other means. The filter you have is basically worthless for a turtle tank. It barely keeps my daughters toad tank clean and they hardly have any water in it. The specs on that filter say it's for a 10-20 gallon tank btw and you should have one rated for at the minium 2 times the tank size. Yes, even if you only fill the tank most of the way the rating does matter. The bigger the better in this case.

If your turtle has white whisps of floating skin, my guess is he's shedding, but can't tell without pictures.

Just an FYI sort of thing, a new tank needs time to cycle if you will. For the filter to get adjusted etc. It's not the same as cycling a fish tank though. I've read a few others posting about the slime on their tanks when they setup a new filter etc. I've personally never had that problem as I use the noisy Aquaclear filters and have never had a problem

[alkaiser]

I've not gone through all the posts in this topic and not sure if someone else has suggested this but sometimes new filters or other new equipment can cause that slimey layer on the water.

No filter will clean up fecal matter. That's something you have to do with either a siphon, a net or some other means. The filter you have is basically worthless for a turtle tank. It barely keeps my daughters toad tank clean and they hardly have any water in it. The specs on that filter say it's for a 10-20 gallon tank btw and you should have one rated for at the minium 2 times the tank size. Yes, even if you only fill the tank most of the way the rating does matter. The bigger the better in this case.

If your turtle has white whisps of floating skin, my guess is he's shedding, but can't tell without pictures.

Just an FYI sort of thing, a new tank needs time to cycle if you will. For the filter to get adjusted etc. It's not the same as cycling a fish tank though. I've read a few others posting about the slime on their tanks when they setup a new filter etc. I've personally never had that problem as I use the noisy Aquaclear filters and have never had a problem

It said 20-40 gallons on the box. It only says that on the website.

Trust me I tried to get the biggest filter I could.

It looks like I might be able to take it back after all, for selling me underrarated equipment.

[cam722]

If you're going to get the replacement at Petsmart, give the Aquaclear a try.. you can print out the ad from their website and save a bunch of money on it. I've never had a problem with it. I know others don't like the noise of it, but I can handle the noise for the cost and effectivness

[marisa]

Get a turkey baster and suck up the poop with that. A filter is supposed to keep the water clear and will not suck up poop (and they're made for fish, not turtles, who have more and bigger poop).

An AquaClear would be much better (it does sound like your present filter is inadequate) in terms of keeping water quality up. I've got several sizes (the 50, 70, and 110) and plan to use the 70 in a 20-gallon tank. You can quiet them (if you don't like the sound of waterfalls) by siliconing/adding a piece of plexiglass to the outlet so the water doesn't have a large drop into the tank.

[vieniebebe]

Don't worry about it.It's probably just his waste or something.Shedding is normal,hopefully,cuz my turtle is shedding right now too,but seems normal otherwise.It's probably just your filter.Oh yea,and also this time of year,the turtles are going into some weird turtle think,so,it won't bask,and it will eat less,just thought to tell you.So don't worry if any of those symptoms occur.It may also look like it's dead,when it's really not,so be carefull.

[ellman605]

and...how do you know this?

[sonyj]

....Oh yea,and also this time of year,the turtles are going into some weird turtle think,so,it won't bask,and it will eat less,just thought to tell you.So don't worry if any of those symptoms occur.It may also look like it's dead,when it's really not,so be carefull.

This is definitely not normal behavior for a turtle this time of year or any other time that has the proper set-up and temperatures in his habitat. If these symptoms are occurring either something is wrong with the set-up or your turtle is ill.