Urgent Care :: WHITE SPOTS????

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

when i first got my baby i notced a few tiny white spots and figured the bad owner before me somehow chipped his shell.... but now i have been noticing they have been getting bigger and he's been getting more... What are they? are they dangerous??? does this need vet attention? HELP!

[marisa]

A clear picture of the shell dry showing the spots you're concerned about would be good in order to see what you're talking about.

No one can even try to tell what the spots are from your description alone.

Kindly post a pic of the shell dry...

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

i would, but my camera is dead and my mom lost the charger

[steve]

From all the pics on the forum, have you seen something similar?

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

i havent seen any pics on the forums with turtles with white spots on their shell

[SpotsMama]

Here's some:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=10839

Here's some more:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=11097

Here's some more:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... ight=white

Here's some more:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... te&start=0

You can just do a search on "white" in the General Care section and get lots of good examples.

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

it kind of looks like the 2nd one... only not as much... KIND OF...... ill TRY to get a pic ASAP.... thanks for the replies!!!

[Tenodera]

I don't know for sure. but it sounds like shedding and bubbles got under the scutes.

did it look like this?

[untsmurf]

Mikey's shell has spots like that. It's just bubbles underneath the scutes, right? How long does it take turts to shed, on average?

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

pretty much.... only they are all around the edges of the scutes, its hard to explain....

[SaweetTURTLE:)]

here, i tried to draw it on paint... its not exactly what they look like ot exactly the same spots but its the best i could do, hes sleeping and i didnt want to wake him up just to look at his shell

[Tenodera]

sounds like scute shedding, although we need a clear photo just to be sure.


untsmurf: I don't know! I've had Serra since march and Serra's scutes STILL haven't fallen off.

[SpotsMama]

the problem is that several conditions look similar, and sometimes it's perfectly normal and sometimes it's a cause for concern. A photo of the dry shell would be most helpful.

One thing you can try is to rub the white areas with a q tip that has been dipped in viniger. Does the white come off? If so, then what you're seeing is mineral deposits caused by hard water.

A question to answer is - can you see the white when the shell is wet as well as when it's dry, or only when it's dry?

[marisa]

In the pic above the scutes look like they have a coppery/goldish look to them, which indicates that air is getting trapped under them as they begin to loosen. If your turtle's spots are like that (did they appear suddenly?), it looks like your turtle is starting to shed. Mineral deposits don't look like that to me.