General Care Discussion :: Black spots on its red colour area of its skin.Pls help

[ahguiturtle]

recently my male RES has black spots on its red colour area of its skin.
It is abt 14 yrs old.
Can these black spots be treated?
Are those black spots developed due to its age?
He is still very active.

[marisa]

The red colored area is the streaks on the side of the head...Can you post a pic of them?

Your RES is older and RES, particularly males, often lose their coloring as they age, including that red on the side of the head. They can become mellanistic, almost black, and the red can eventually become extremely difficult to distinguish. (There's a picture of one somewhere on the forums.) This could be what's happening to your turtle

[jenaero]

found it

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4644

[ahguiturtle]

those black spots juz look like the picture in the forums.
there is colour fading on his red streaks.

Exactly what u have mentioned.
Are those black spots on his red streaks an alarm of his health?
What went wrong?
or
Every aging RESs have to go through this stage?

BTW, what is the life span of a RES?

Thks~

[jenaero]

Not every res will have that. I'm not sure what the cause is or if it's just genetic but it's nothing to worry about. It's not a sign of any health problems or anything.

Oldest res on record was over 60 years old. Average lifespan I believe is 20-40 years with proper care.

[marisa]

The darkening is not uncommon as RES age. It happens mainly to males and is thought to be due to hormones.