Urgent Care :: White Film on Turtles!!! Help!!!

[heatherlp07]

I have two baby red ear sliders. Both of the turtles have a white film on their bodies (not theirs shells). Is there something wrong with my turtles or is this normal??

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Is it translucent and whispy? Does it look like spider webs hanging off of them? Does it go away when they are out of the water? If so, it's probably skin shedding.

However I'm curious, what are you housing them in? And what is the water temperature?

[heatherlp07]

The turtles are in a small tank since we just got them, I plan on getting a larger tank soon. The temp is about 80.

As for the film...that is exactly what it looks like. You can't really tell that it is there when they are out of water either. But would both of the turtles be shedding at the same time?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Is the tank 10 gallons atleast and do you have a UVB light, water heater, filter etc? All and a lot more of those things are important to your turtle. Have you read the main site yet? Here are some realy good sites that you are going to want to read:

www.redearslider.com

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/c ... slider.htm

Yeah both can shed at the same time.

[heatherlp07]

We are actually getting all that stuff this weekend. Thanks so much for the help. I was so worried about out turtles I thought I had done something wrong. I have regularly cleaned the tank (every 2 days) and made sure the water was the correct temp. Thanks again!!!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Your welcome, oh and welcome to turtle talk! My names eddie, hope you stick around

[heatherlp07]

Thanks! I'm Heather!! I plan on asking all my turtle questions here!

[heatherlp07]

How could you tell if it was a fungus or not???

[SpotsMama]

Skin shedding is thin and whispy. You see the strands floating in the water around the turtle. The strands aren't visible when the turtle is out of the water. Light shedding is normal. Heavy shedding is usually an indication that the water temp is high, or that the turtle is being overfed.


Skin fungus is usually described as white or brown fuzzy patches. They would be visible even when the turtle was out of the water, whereas the thin whisps of shedding skin are visible only when the turtle is in the water.

[heatherlp07]

Thanks, I think my turtles are shedding but I wanted to check to see what a fungus would look like just to make sure.

[marisa]

Actually, a fungus can mimic shedding. How long have you had them? Did they have this film when you got them, or has it developed recently?

If they're in a small tank with warm water and no filter, the skin can get funky looking, even with frequent water changes.

What, how much and how often are they being fed?

After you improve their enclosure and have a filter, see if their skin improves. (Lowering the temp a few degrees to 78F would be good as well.)

[heatherlp07]

We have had the turtles for about a month and a half. They just got this film recently. It is not slimy or anything, it just looks like the turtles are really hairy when they are in water but when they arn't they look fine and normal. We feed them turtle pellets every night and we give them both about three pellets broken in half.

[industrial_girl_2000]

We have had the turtles for about a month and a half. They just got this film recently. It is not slimy or anything, it just looks like the turtles are really hairy when they are in water but when they arn't they look fine and normal. We feed them turtle pellets every night and we give them both about three pellets broken in half.

That sounds like shedding skin. RES's tend to shed quite a bit compared to other turtles. One thing that helped me with mine (she was shedding a lot a long time ago & it was clogging the filter really fast) was to turn the water temp down by 1-2 degrees (78 to 76 degrees). That helped a lot! For the babies, they actually like the water a little bit warmer so I wouldn't turn it down to 76. Keep it around 78 for them.

[SpotsMama]

I had the same experience as Industrial Girl with the skin shedding when the water was a little too warm. Just lowering it a few degrees made the difference. 78 degrees is about perfect for a hatchling. My turtle, who is grown, seems to do best when it's cooler - below 75 degrees.

[heatherlp07]

Thanks I will try that. What other advice do you have to help reduce heavy shedding is there anything else I can do. Is there anything I can do the get the skin off or should I just let it happen naturally. How long will they shed? This has been going on for about a week, will if be over soon??