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i recently got two baby sliders and i'm worried about each of them. one of them seems to have tiny white specks on its shell. the other has a couple of its scute. i dont know if they are shedding or what. both of the turtles' shells maybe soft but parts seem to be harder, the turtles are about an inch and a half long each so its hard to test how hard the shells are. also since they are babies, do they start out having softer shells? i have been putting both in zoo med turtle sulfa dip for the past 2 days.. but i haven't noticed any difference.

on another note, how deep should their water be? i have it so it covers their shells and just a little bit more. also they refuse to bask. or at least i never see them do it. i have them in an about a 10 by 8 inch container... i know probably not the best, but i live in a dorm room i have been using a regular light bulb to heat their water and give them light. during the day i put them near the window to get sunlight. when i change the water i add zoo med reptisafe. i have a rock for them to sit on, but they never do, they should be able to get onto it b/c they climb out of things that are above them.

i dont know whats going on with my turtles, please help!

Sulfa dip isn't going to make their shells harder. They need calcium, UVB light (which they can't get through a window), and a place to bask. In such a small container the light is going to be heating the water as much as the basking rock, so they probably won't care to get out. The basking spot needs to be warmer than the water or they won't want to bask.
Three inches of turtle needs a 30 gallon tank. I have one 2.5 inch turtle and he's only in a 10 gallon (I got it for free and I can't afford another tank right now), so I'm probably going to be easier on you than anyone else, but you really need to get them something bigger. They need much more water than that and they need room to swim. My turtle lived in a small container like that before I was able to rescue him... he is a totally different animal now.
I'm guessing you're not allowed fish tanks in the dorms? Get some rubbermaid containers that you can't see through and then just keep the lids around in case you ever need to hide the turtles.

will the sulfur dip work on their white spots or whatever it is?

casual_insanity wrote:will the sulfur dip work on their white spots or whatever it is?

If it's shell rot you will need to get them to a herp vet to be treated. Sulfa dip is not really good for curing anything that I know of, but I might be wrong on this point.

Unless the vet tells you to, I wouldn't bother with the sulfa dip. Esp. since you don't know what you're trying to cure yet.

Can you post a pic of the shells when they're dry?

i'll try to borrow a digital camera from a friend as soon as possible, mine is broken

unfortunately i have not been able to get ahold of a camera yet, but i'm working on it.

i was watching my turtles eat and they go after the pellets and it looks like they are swallowing or chewing or somethingm but food keeps coming out. it seems like they make more of a mess when it comes out then that they eat anything. is it normal that the food comes back out? how do i know they are eating it?

RES are messy when they eat. They shred up their food, esp. pellets so what you're describing eating wise, seems normal.

ok i finally got pictures of my turtles. sorry it took so long. turtle (that is his name) is the one with the the white stripe thing down the center and little guys is the one with all the spots. it seems like he has more now then before:(


this is turtle


turtle again


little guy's spots


spots are still there

i hope someone knows what these things are. please help

They're really cute. The shell in the first two pics looks like a the shell of a turtle that's not been living in good conditions or had a balanced diet (from the pic, it looks quite dry). I've noticed that sometimes the scutes of really small turtles look a little rough, and with a good habitat and diet (and time), when they finally shed, the underlying scutes are much healthier. But what has happened to the nuchal scute (the one behind the neck)? Is the area smelly at all? Is it soft? It looks like there could be some shell rot there...

The last two pics with the white spots--the white is actually part of the shell? Two areas--the upper left pleural scute and the second vertebral scute look like there could be some shell rot there. Are those areas soft? Smelly?

There's some info on shell rot, treatment, and pics to compare your turtles' shells at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

I think the nuchal scute is missing. it doesn't smell different from the rest of him and it isn't noticably soft. but i'm not sure if it looks like that when missing.

for little guy, the white spots arent' apart of the smell as far as i can tell. i tried scraping them with my fingernail but nothing happened. when he is in the water the spots are kindof reflective and stand out. he smells pretty much like turtle. i can't tell a difference in their smell. they both kindof smell like something, but its not really bad or obvious. different scutes are a little soft, but not necessarily the ones pointed out.

Do they have the equipment that was recommended in earlier posts (UVB light, water heater for example? Do they bask? What exactly is their set-up like? It would be good to do some reading on the site to see what they should have and compare it with what they do have...If they're not in good living conditions with a balanced diet, they're health will eventually suffer.

Unfortunately I don't have room for a larger tank as I am in a dorm:( When i go home for the summer I have a larger tank waiting for them. They have a basking area and a place for them to hide. I only have a flourscent light but i put them at the window everyday to get direct sunlight, and I usually spot them basking when I do that. I try to look too often because they get scared and go to their hiding spot. No water heater either The sun usually heats it to about 78 or so.

The tank is filled about 3/4 with water with a floating basking spot. Underneath their is a cave they hide in. I have a fake plant that they like to lay on the leaves or hide under. There basking spot that floats is new so they are still getting used to it. the water was lower and they would go on top of their cave. There is no filter but i take out any thing that my little net can fish out. I know I should have a better setup but i can't get it at the moment

I feed them reptomin baby. they have a good appetite and sometimes i worry that i am overfeeding them. I only feed them once a day around 8pm. I have been putting food in the water and on their basking spot to get them to go up on it more. and they seem to get up and eat it.

I had stopped the sulfur dip and the spots on little guy have gotten worse over that time. so i am going to start that again and see if it works. I have been looking on previous posts for the same symptoms but I haven't had luck yet. There are alot of posts.

How bad does shell rot smell? I read that one case smelled really really bad, but the entire shell looked like it had been rotting for awhile and had progressed really far. Does the smell vary? Is there anything to compare it to?

They do not get UVB rays from the window--the glass blocks them. For their shells to improve, they really need a better habitat with lighting, etc. They could really be bad by summer...