General Care Discussion :: white flakey stuff on the shell

[gizzle1111]

Hi guys,

My turtle has just shed its shell (its summer in New Zealand right now )and looks great except when he is out of the water. Once his shell dries off you see this light whitish colored flakey stuff on the outside of his shell. You can scratch it off with a fingernail, but just wondering if anyone has heard of this, or familar with what it is?

As i said, when the shell is wet it looks great, completely normal, and you can't see this white flakey stuff at all. So i am pretty sure it is not shell rot or anything like that.

Any ideas? Thanks very much for your help.

[jenaero]

Sounds like it may be mineral deposits from hard water. Do you use any kind of water conditioner? Is the same white film building up on the aquarium glass?

[gizzle1111]

Hi,

I don't use any water conditioner, would you recommend to?

I haven't actually noticed any of the glass. I will look tonight.

Also, it is a relatively recent thing, which is only present on the new shell (and not the old shell).