Urgent Care :: They are turning pink!

[crackerlady2007]

How big is your turtle? They are about 2 1/2 - 3" long
How long have you had it? 1 for about 2 years. 1 for about 3 weeks

What is the water temperature? 74-76
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? No
How much water is in there? About 50 Gal
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes. Carbon Filter
Are you using any filtration? Yes

What is the basking temperature? Don't know.
Is there a basking light? It went out yesterday. Pink showed up before.
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? It's floating plastic kind.
Is there a UVB light? There was. It ent out yesterday. Pink showed up before.

What have you been trying to feed it? Turtle food form the pet section.
When was the last time your turtle ate? Not very long ago.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 60 gal tank. About 10 gallons worth is blocked off. (Our chiclids had baby's and they're aggressive.
Is the tank near a window? No.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Not usually.

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes.
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes.

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Only the color.

Ok, so I've gone through the list and answered the questions as best I could. Now, I've had Mr Turtle for about 2 years, and he's always been happy and playful. A friend gave me Mrs. Turtle just a few days ago. She had this gross looking flaky stuff coming off her skin, NOT her shell, only her skin. That finally cleared up and now her shell has taken on a pink color. I didn't really think much of it until my new baby turtle died a few days ago. Now, Mr. Turtle is turning pink too! They are not in a tank by themselves. They share it with 2 big gold fish, 2 grown chiclids, and about 200 baby chiclids that hatched about 2 weeks ago. One more note, we had 2 fish die of Ich a few weeks ago, so we have been treating the tank for that. Could this pink be something to do with the color of the treatment? Why did my baby turtle die? Is this something to worry about or am I just over-reactive? Let me know ASAP! Here are some pictures:

Thanks in advance!

[TheComputerGremlin]

I'm not an expert at pink shells, but it reminds me of this pink mold stuff that I find a lot in our bathtub/bathroom. Esp. since it's confined to the "cracks" of the shells. You said you had the one turtle for over a year and then got two more at the same time but one died? Where did you get the two new ones from? I know most people on the board recommend a 90 day quarantine of any new turtles. It's possible that they brought something in with them. It's also possible that any water treatment (like for Ich) is compromising your good bacteria. I don't think turtles get Ich, but I don't know for sure.

[crackerlady2007]

I got them from a friend. They didn't seem very well cared for, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did bring something with them. I didn't quarantine them, because I didn't think about it. Now that the other one has it, what can I do? I don't think turtles get Ich either, but I guess I don't know so much. Anyway, I wonder if there is some kind of turtle shampoo or something I can bath them in to get rid of the pink. Any suggestions?

[megcornell]

That doesn't look very healthy to me. I would make an appointment with a herp vet asap.
You also want to pick up new bulbs and a water heater- constant temps are VERY important in keeping turtles healthy.
YOu'll also want to get a separate fish tank, the turtles will produce too much waste for the cichlids to be healthy, and and that happen to make it to the turtle side will become lunch.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Herp vet, ASAP. That is not a normal pink coloring.

Turtles can't get "ich" because they don't have fishy-fins.

Let us know how you make out at the vets!

[Tenodera]

What brand of pellet is she fed on? My class's RES has slightly pinkish lines like yours but its only a little bit and the colouring came from the pellets.

Watch out, it could be Septicemia, which is deadly to turtles.

[crackerlady2007]

It's Wardley brand. It says Reptile premium sticks, great for Amphibians. There are no vets in my area. The closest one is about 4 hours away. Does anyone know if there is something I could just do for her? Also, are turtles best kept in there very own tank without any other fish?

[TheComputerGremlin]

I think turtles are only kept with fish that are eventually meant to get eaten. If you have fish that you value, it's best to keep them separate. Some people's feeder fish last for months, though, so there's no harm keeping them together, however the turtles will produce a lot of harmful chemicals that can kill fish.

As for what you can do, you checked out all of the vets? I don't remember, where do you live? Maybe someone has a suggestion on the board or a vet they can show the pics to and see if they know. It's also possible if there is a zoo/aquarium nearby, they might have someone, maybe even a university can help. It seems the overwhelming opinion is to get them to a vet. Maybe you can provide some more information/pictures on the problem. What exactly does the food look like (I assume it's those green floating sticks)? If you take a very very soft toothbrush or wash cloth, does the color rub away at all? Have you tried a full tank water change?

[crackerlady2007]

We're actually going to eventually take the fish out and just have turtles, but for now the fish are quite big so we're not too worried about them becoming lunch, yet. I think I'm going to give the tooth brush thing a try, and we're going to change out a bunch of the water on Saturday. So far, the pink doesn't seem to just rub away, but I didn't try very hard. Here's a picture of the food we've been giving them.
It's not green. It's brown. They also like fish food, so they have that too.

[marisa]

Too late, I know, but for future reference, the new turtle (Mrs. Turtle) should have been quarantined for at least 90 days to make sure she didn't have anything contagious...

Your other turtles were in with the fish and you were treating the water but neither turtle turned pink (and die, sorry) until you put Mrs. Turtle in with them? How long had you been treating the water and what are you treating it with?

None of the pink comes off if you gently rub it with a q-tip? If not, and since one turtle has died, it really would be good to have the other two seen by someone who knows turtles. Where are you located? Is there any herp society in your state that you could contact for info on vets or even a wildlife rehabilitator?

[crackerlady2007]

I'm in Southern Utah. The closest vet is in Salt Lake (about a 3-4 hour drive), so that's a little out of the question. We were treating our tank for Ick with this blue stuff that took care of the fish. The baby turtle that died was, I think, already on it's way out when I got it. I got it the same time as Mrs. Turtle. The turtles don't act like this coloring has affected their behavior. They're still just a playful and happy as turtles can be, so I wonder if that stuff we were putting in there for the Ich just dyed them a little. Maybe they're just tickled pink! I've not tried to rub it off with anything but my fingers yet. I haven't got anything here to do it with. The turtles are at our office. I'm going to bring some things tomorrow to try. I'll let you all know how it turns out.

[TheComputerGremlin]

There are no vets closer in Arizona or Nevada? I know, herp vets are so few and far between! Another thing that I thought of reading your post is that your turtle likes to eat the fish food, and I know all fish food I've ever bought is red. Is it possible that it is discoloring the turtle? I think I remember a recent problem with the turtle being pinkish and we figured it was from the food. Good luck with the gentle scrubbing, just don't scrub too much and maybe space it out over a few hours, as the turtle will likely get annoyed after a few minutes!

[crackerlady2007]

I'm certainly going to give that a try. I don't exactly relish the idea of taking an entire day off to make trip to the turtle doctor only to discover my turtle just got colored with the food I'm feeding it! Not that I wouldn't enjoy the break, but you know how it goes! Anyway, thanks for all the suggestions. I'll let you all know how it goes. Thank-You, Thank-You!

[crackerlady2007]

One more question. Is there any kind of a solvent I should try and use on it? I was thinking I might try something like salt water. Is that a good idea?

[TheComputerGremlin]

I think a little dilute salt water or dilute vinegar solution (1:10 ratio vinegar to water) is okay, but aside from that, I wouldn't try any other solutions. Both of those can be used in tanks, but make sure you thoroughly wash the turtle when you're done in regular water.