Urgent Care :: turtle bellies discolored

[pao]

i have 2 little res's and when i first got them their bellies were yellow, but ive noticed lately that theyre getting brownish, orangy spots on their bellies, what are these spots and are they something important that i should have taken of?

[erinemcgreevy]

The spots are normal, but I don't know what are or why they are.

[SpotsMama]

Are the spots soft? Or slimy? Or rough? Can you post photos of the belly when it's dry?

What you describe could be a number of things - from coloration due to beta carotine in the diet to bruising or injuries or shell rot. It would be most helpful if we could see what you are seeing.

[pao]

here are a few pictures of the turtles belly, you can see the darker spots near the middle and the lower half of his belly
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc21 ... C00666.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc21 ... C00665.jpg
http://i216.photobucket.com/albums/cc21 ... C00664.jpg

[mikee]

Pao -- Have you thought about your turtle scraping his plastron on the ramp or basning area. Sometimes they will rub their bottom getting around. A clearer and a closer look would help.

[pao]

this is what my setup is like, i use a rock as a basking platform so it could be that

[pao]

haha yea i know its a little broke looking especially with the rubber tubby being used as a support for the rock

[megcornell]

I would be worried about those rocks collapsing.
I'd look into a more stable basking area, it would be awful if a turtle got trapped under those rocks.
You should also consider removing those marbles. They chip easily, and it's not good to have glass shards in the tank.
Also, is there a heater in the tank?

[pao]

yup theres a heater on the left side one of the turtles is swimming by it, i used to have gravel but the turts were eating them, and the rock is pretty stable, i make sure that it wont fall down, i put wait on it and try to shake it around before i put them in after i clean the tank out

[SpotsMama]

I totally agree with megcornell about the rocks. There have been two very sad cases on here recently where rock towers collapsed, pinning the turles and the turtles died.

I think the dark areas on your turtles plastron look like damage from the surface of the rock too. Are the areas rough at all? I'd wash their bellies in betadine or a 50% hibiclense/water solution, then let them dry off for a couple of hours before putting them back in the tank. Repeat this every day for about 5 days. If any of the spots look bright red or if there's any bleeding, then you'll need to take more aggressive measures.

Also, be sure and replace the basking area with something smooth or softer. My turtle basked for most of the summer last year on a flag stone that felt smooth to me but it was too abrasive for my turtle and he got some small injuries on his plastron. It took a long long time for them to heal but he's doing fine now.

[pao]

i used to put them in a box with the heat and uvb lamps pointed straight at them but all theyd do is run around and poo everywhere, so i havent really kept them dry for long periods of time because i didnt want them covered in poo, should i not have the lamps on them while theyre out of water?

[SpotsMama]

You can leave the lamps off. In fact, it would be best for them if you could put them in a box and cover it and keep it in a dark quite place. then they'll go to sleep and won't feel so stressed. Put a towel or something in the box so they'll have something to burrow into if they want. Be sure the box is in a warm place so they won't get a chill.

When you handle them, handle them very gently so they won't feel so scared.

[pao]

thats my only concern when i put them in the box, is that theyll get cold which is why i kept the lamps on them, to make sure that they were warm, its winter here right now and i didnt wanna risk them getting sick

[marisa]

They do need a better basking area...

The pics are a little fuzzy to me, but when you mean spots, do you mean the darkened areas that are close to the dark blotches? If so, this is from growth and is pretty much normal. When the growth slows down, those blotches will become more distinct. I can't, however, comment on those two dark areas in the seam (the line down the center in between the scutes)---the picture isn't close enough. If those areas have always been there, though, that's probably just the way they are.

For me, using a light when they're out of the tank would depend on the ambient temp of the room. And the temp should be carefully monitored so they don't get dehydrated.