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I have recently noticed a bit of discolouration on my turtles shell.
I am not sure if it is mineral deposits or shell rot (I am a bit of a worrier)
I can't see how it could be shell rot as they have a very adequate set up - although we recently had to remove one of the turtles as he was being quite aggressive, nipping at the others feet - but I never noticed any open wounds or they would have been treated.
Their shells are hard, they are all still eating and active, there is no smell coming from them. The white patches seem to be hard - not pus-y or weeping.
They have a large cork basking area with a 10.0 UV and a basking lamp. Temps are around 31/32C and the water temp is about 21C.
I have included a picture - all views are welcome. If they need to be treated I want to get on top of it right away.
Thanks.
EDIT - Sorry I forgot to mention the only recent change to the set up has been a new external filter. Fluval 405.

an easy way to tell if you are dealing with mineral deposists is to take a q-tip dipped in vinegar and gently scrub the white spots (then rinse well). If the white goes away completely with the vinegar treatment, it is probably mineral deposits.

Thank you
Someone on a british forum suggested it may be retained shed but I will def try the vinegar thing just to be sure. Thanks for your help.

You can raise the water temp to around 24 celcius (75 fahrenheit).

How much do the turtles bask? When they bask, do their shells get to dry off completely - top and bottom? How do the plastrons look?

When you press gently on any of the scutes, does any water ooze out around the edges?

Where it's white on the shell, does the surface feel damaged, or is it all perfectly smooth?

Hi there. There is a large basking area where he can get completely dry top and bottom with UV and a heat lamp. He basks a good bit but he also likes a good swim about. They have light and UV for 13/14 hours a day.
I will raise the water temps and see if that helps.
I have just checked on him now and it seems to have gotten worse.
I can see some of his scutes starting to shed at the back and it looks normal underneath. I can feel the white stuff on top of the shell. It is almost gritty.
I think I will take him to the vet just to be sure it is not shell rot and I think I will dry dock him today.

Hi Angela,

This looks very similar to a type of fungus my turtle had to deal with a couple of years ago. Did you arrange a vet visit yet?

Hi Steve.
I have not arranged a vet appointment as the turtle is shedding his scutes and underneath seems fine - no white stuff at all.I'm gonna keep an eye on him for the next few day, as he's shedding his plastron too and if afterwards anymore shows it it will be a trip to the vet but at the moment it seems like it might be a mineral deposit problem.
I have a vet who specialises in turtles and tortoises so if the problem persists I'll get him down to see her.
Would you recommend getting him seen anyway?

Glad to know there's shedding going on! I'm fairly certain it is fungus and not mineral deposits because that would effect the entire shell. Fungus/yeast infections seem to be more common than mineral deposits.

If the shedding takes care of it, then I wouldn't worry about it. Fungus is a problem but it can cause secondary issues that make it difficult to treat.

so if u dnt hv a vet then how to treat fungus? take out in sun or wat? cz i mite b having same prob with my turtle :S

munkly wrote:so if u dnt hv a vet then how to treat fungus? take out in sun or wat? cz i mite b having same prob with my turtle :S

Yep you dry dock your turtle for a couple hours.