Urgent Care :: Need help -- Brownish red around both turtles mouths.

[Chicago Jim]

After a busy few weeks of running around, I haven't been able to spend as much time with my turtles and I notices the other day (after a day or two of the water being cloudy) that both my RES had a reddish brown ring around their mouths.

I took the whole aquarium apart, cleaned the filter out, scoured the walls, washed the gravel out, and then put everything back together. They seem perfectly normal otherwise -- eating voraciously, chasing ruby reds around the tank, and generally acting like, well, turtles.

I feel like a terrible turtle dad. I picked up some stuff from the pet store from Zoo Meds called 'Repti Turtle Sulfa Dip' (for bacterial diseases of aquatic and box turtles) and I am prepared to use it if this doesn't clear up soon... but can anyone tell me what it sounds like it may be? Or if it is anything to be worried about?

Thank you.

[SpotsMama]

The Sulfa Dip can't help with this situation. It's for minor shell and skin infections but should not be used around a turtle's face.

Have your turtles been eating anything red or orange like carrots lately?

Can you post photos of your turtles' mouths?

edit: I originally left out the word "not" in the first paragraph but now have added it.

[marisa]

What do the mouths look like inside? If you take a q-tip and touch it to the brownish areas, does anything come off?

[Chicago Jim]

Sorry, been at work again.

The camera isn't working at present so I can't post a pic.

No, they haven't been eating carrots (I haven't had any luck with those or pretty much any other vegetables... the only greenery they'll eat is when they consume the anacharis plantings)

Their mouths look normal inside, so far as I can see. I tried the q-tip test on one of them, and the little bugger snapped at it and tried to eat it... now I've got to worry about the cotton he (or she) may have swallowed too!

Like I said, they seem pretty healthy, the brownish-red is mostly around their 'beaks'. It could just be some new coloring that they've developed for all I know. But I don't recall seeing it before, so my own hypochondriach (or maybe it's herpo-chondriach?) side has me concerned.