General Care Discussion :: Shell turning BROWN! P.1 Tank set-up P.2

[myryspace]

Hello. I have 2 RES both the same age, bought the same time. They are about 3 inches in length. The problem is that one of my turtles is turning brown. It's not build up of anything in the tank like gunk. If I take a towel to him it's there, it's like his shell has been stained by something.
The other turtle is bright green and is beautiful. They both eat the same diet and they live in the same tank together.

Also, for part 2 of my post, please someone assure that my tank set up is right.
2 RES 3'' long
40 gallon breeder tank
Cascade 600 filter for 30 gallons of water
Heater for 50 gallons of water, non breakable
Ceramic heater for night time
UVB Bulb
Day light basking light
I have 2 platforms, one under the ceramic heater, one under the day light basking light
I have serveral pieces of dwift wood on the bottom of the tank with fake plants and rocks.

Is that right?

[Daniel3507]

im not sure about the shell turning brown. but your tank isnt big enough for 2 3 inch turtles. really its not recommended to keep multiple turtles together. rule of thumb is 10 gallons of water per inch of turtle. is the UVB over the basking areas?

[marisa]

Welcome. Your tank is a little small for the size of your turtles...

By brown, do you mean completely brown, or are areas of the carapace getting dark streaks or blotches? What about the plastron (underside)---is it normal or is it turning brown as well?

Can you post a pic of the shell dry?

If you have a ceramic heater over one basking area and a daylight (heat?) bulb over the other, where is the UVB light positioned? What brand of UVB light are you using?

Is it really cold in the room they're in? If not, why do they need a ceramic heater at night?

[myryspace]

Thanks for the reply... I will be sure to get a bigger tank... when I bought the turtles the pet store said all you need as a 10 gallon tank so I believed him, then another pet store said no you need this new turtle kit, that was a 20 gallon long, then I was reading on here and the only thing I could budget was a 40 breeder.
As for as keeping multiples together, they were hatched together and they have always been together so I figured they could be housed together. I feel bad enough leaving my betta fish alone in it's bowl. LOL.

I will try to get a picture of the wet shell and dry shell. The top of the shell is a dark dark green and the other turtle is a vibrant green. The bottom of the shell is brown streaks and other turtles shell is fine.

Although I do have a 40 gallon tank I do have 22,000 in ground pool that was did not put chemicals in this year, I have kept the filter running with just sand so keep the water clean, without chemicals. I do let them in there about 2 hours a day while I garden. They love it.

I will get those pictures.

[spaceapple]

It is just very dark green, not brown? If it didn't turn that way very suddenly, chances are that's just going to be the natural shell color of your turtle. Most RES's shells do turn a much darker shade of green as they get older. Can you post a picture of your turtles?

Wow, I just went back and saw what you said about your pool. Your turtles must have a blast swimming in there! You should post a picture of them in the pool for fun ^_^

[Nin10doGC]

Haha! The turtles must love the big pool.

[PcBuilder14]

Those turtles have GOT to love that!!!!!