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Does anyone know of the reason why a RES's stomach (shell) turns pink. Im took them to the vet once already and was givin 2 different shots one was Claforan and the other was Monoxi-something. They were suppose to take care of a rspiratory infection and parasites. They recieved the shots for 2 weeks. I finished the shots and waited 2 weeks and their stomachs are still bright pink. I dont know what to do. Im on a budget, but i want to make sure that they are well taken care of. Is there anything else i can do?
I clean rinse their filter every few days, i clean out aLL the water once a month, i dont know what else to do. (and this is what the vet told me to do). They arent choking anymore though and no one has puked either. They do eat each other's feces which worries me, but i have no way of controlling it.
Im just not sure what this is from. Any input would be greatly welcomed.

Can you post a picture of their bellies so we can see what you mean by pink.

How many turtles do you have together? Do they all exhibit the same symptoms? Can you answer some of these questions: http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142

well i dont have a working camera right now, but i will try ot find a way to post a picture. I have 3 of my RES living in the same tank and they all have the pink stomach. I took them to the vet already once and was givin 2 different kinds of shots. They finished the meds and i gave it two extra weeks after the finish to see if the anti-biotics would have lasting effects, but doesnt seem to have happened.
as far as these questions go, here ais some basic info.


How big is your turtle? 6.5" and two 4"
How long have you had it? a little over a year

What is the water temperature? 80
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 40-50 gls.
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 85- 90
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Turtle Dock by Zoomed
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? i feed them greens every couple days. Still trying to find out where to get the mustard greens and dandiolions tho. I'd really like to be able to give them more vegetation. Daily i feed them Reptomin.
When was the last time your turtle ate? this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 55 gl. aquarium
Is the tank near a window? about 6 feet away. The half of the tank that is closest has a covering and theother side has a basking lamp and 2 UVA/B bulbs
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? i walk through it throughout the day, but mostly they have it to themselves.

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes, repeatedly
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? no

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? not recently, not since i took them to the vet already. Its just the pink tummy im worried about.

If it were septicemia, I'd expect the turtles to be displaying more symptoms than a mis colored plastron. Can you describe or rate how pink the bellies are? Are we talking just a tinge or like pepto bismol or reddish?
The tank you have is grossly undersized for your turtles and I think the resulting poor water quality cannot have a good effect on them. One of the first things you should be doing is looking into alternatives like stock tanks or larger aquariums.
When you took them to the vet what were the shots for? Were they in response to the coloring and did they help at all or did the coloring change at all?

Their plastrons were already pink when you took them to the vet (You said they were still bright pink after two weeks, so I'm assuming they were pink when the vet saw them)? What did the vet say about the color?