General Care Discussion :: Small Green Substance/Eye Rubbing

[eazyegee]

There's this small green substance on my basking dock it's the same green as those small round pellets. I don't know what it is it's at the end where the water meets the dock. Could it be poop? Do the turtle's poop there? Also my turtle does an action like he's rubbing his eye he doesn't touch his eye though. Why does he do this?

[Tenodera]

Does the green stuff look like this?:


If so, then it's probably algae.

Sometimes my turtle scratches her face when she bites a HUGE bite out of the lettuce and is trying to get it back out. Then when it floats back out, she eats it again.

[Rocky YBS]

well, turtle poop looks brown.
um, im not sure what the green substance might be, it could be algea.
is the tank water clean and how many times do you clean the dock?
could you make a pic?
it would help.

[marisa]

Algae often forms on the edges of basking areas where they meet the water.
The light, warmth and nutrients in the water all contribute to it. Does the green rub off easily?

How often do you change the water and clean the tank? What kind of filter are you using? If the water gets really dirty, a residue can quickly form on objects in the tank.

When does your turtle make the "rubbing eye" behavior? If it's after he's been basking for a while, does he make other movements as well? If so, he's probably getting a little warm and at some point will go into the water to cool off.

[eazyegee]

I think it's algae. It doesn't rub off I cleaned the dock yesterday but still it's there and there's more. I change the water and clean the tank (20.gal)weekly. The filter is one of those waterfall filters by Aquaclear.

[eazyegee]

There's even more algae growing. I tried scrubbing it off when cleaning the dock when there were only little spots but they didn't come off.

[marisa]

Perhaps the dock needs a more thorough cleaning. Are you just scrubbing with water? If so, you could mix a little white vinegar with it. The algae would probably come off more easily.

How often do you change the water? Do you do partial water changes?

[eazyegee]

I scrub with a sponge. I change the water weekly. No partial water changes.