Urgent Care :: Pink Skin Around Neck and Front Legs

[leiferc]

Hi, I have a 16 year old RES named Michaelangelo. I acquired him about 4 years ago from a family friend whose kids had simply outgrown him. Recently I bought him a new ramp for basking which is higher than his old rock and a bit closer to his lamps, but other than that there have been no changes to his living conditions. He basks under a 15 watt clear bulb and a 25 watt blue bulb which keep the air and water warm enough for him. He eats pellets, and I recently bought him some feeder fish as a treat. In two days, he ate 15 of the little fellas.

Anyway, a couple of days later I noticed that his skin surrounding his neck and front legs is a pinkish colour. He took a few days to get used to his new ramp, but other than being a bit tentative about climbing up on it, his behaviour hasn't changed. He basks for a few hours a day, swims and digs lots, begs for more food when I go by his tank, and gets a run around the living room a few times a week. Only his skin is pink, his shell is normal and hasn't changed colour at all. Could the change to his skin colour be from the 15 goldfish he ate last week? Or could there be something more wrong with him? Please offer your educated opinions and advice. I'm worried about the big guy... Thank you!!

[TurtleLover_S&B]

I think it's because you moved the basking dock closer and the uv rays have sunburned him a little bit.I'd say you should turn off the light until you can get a backing dock lower.

[marisa]

Welcome. When you say pink, how pink? I would think that if the cause of the coloration was dietary, the rear legs and tail would be pink as well. I will say, though, that 15 feeder fish in two days is too much... Stop the feeder fish and see if his color returns to normal.

You say you're using a clear light and a blue light. You might swap out one of them for a UVB light (neither one currently is).

What's the temp of the basking area and water? (In the range of 88-90F is good.) He should do fine with a water temp in the low to mid 70's.

If there's been no behavioral change and he's eating well, it doesn't sound like anything's seriously wrong with him. If the coloring increases or spreads to his hind legs and tail, I'd have him looked at.