General Care Discussion :: Pink on Bottom Shell

[Salmonantha]

Hello All!
My turtles have a slight pink tint to the underside of their shells, and at first I thought it was because I fed them dried shrimp food stuff, but it's been over six months and they still have a lil pink. . . What else could be causing it? And is there anything I can do to help it? They are about 3 inches and 3 and half inches...both growing great since they've been in their new home! Here is the clearest pictures I could get:




Any advice would be great! Thanks!!

[DavidY]

Hmm, I can't see any pink (I'm slightly color blind to some shades of red and green). I think sometimes septicemia can show up as red areas on the shell but I doubt that's what it is in your case. I'm not sure what it could be but I'm sure someone will be able to help you out soon.

Can you describe your setup and what you're feeding them?

[Salmonantha]

I have them each in 29 gallon tanks with a filter, heat lamp, UVB light, heater, ramp/dock for basking, some fake plants and a few big rocks. Water temp is about 78 and basking is around 90 degrees. I feed them Kaytee brand pellets and some ZooMed brand pellets, and lettuce and carrots whenever I get a chance - They still are hesitant to eat veggies, Im gonna try dipping the veggies in tuna water like I read on here somewhere though. Their tanks are over half full with water and they each have a cuttlebone. (I recently had to seperate them because they were being aggressive with each other and biting, and I didn't want them to hurt one another!)

I think thats about it..... let me know if Im doing something wrong please! Thanks for the help!

[DavidY]

It sounds like you've got everything set up very nicely. I'm wondering if there is anything that could be irritating the turtles bellies. What kind of filters are you using on their tanks? Also, are there any abrasive surfaces on the rocks and/or basking dock/ramp? Have you been able to test the water for ammonia or nitrite? You can either get a test kit or you can bring a sample of water from each tank to your aquarium pet store and have them test it for you (Petco does it for free as do most others).

Do you notice them basking regularly, enough to completely dry out their shells? Is their basking platform completely above the water level (dry)?

Also take a look at this link...http://www.redearslider.com/shell_conditions.html. It mentions the septicemia. It's a very dangerous condition. Again, I can't see any pink in the pictures, but if you're certain it's there, you might want to bring them to a good vet to have it checked out.

[Salmonantha]

Well, the rocks they have are a little bigger than the size of a quarter, but they are smooth rocks - They do knock them around alot though when they "freak out" and try to swim away sometimes! Their docks are those kind that float ontop of the water, not abrasive in anyway, but it seems mostly dry except for the water they bring up with them I guess.
I have not tested their water- I change their tanks and completely clean them about every two weeks- Is this good or bad?
Also, they seem to bask pretty regularly - I originally just had a UVA/UVB buld, and noticed they didn't bask very much, and then realized it was because it wasnt getting warm enough! So, I then got them a heat lamp recently and they seem to bask more often now, but always jump in the water when I come by and start begging for food

[DavidY]

Okay, so it doesn't sound like any abrasion going on. Basking sounds good. You should avoid completely cleaning the entire filter as you want to keep the beneficial bacteria alive in there. If you clean it too thoroughly, you will kill off the bacteria and then the ammonia and nitrite levels will spike. What kind of filters are they? Usually there is a piece of foam and a carbon bag in each filter. You should rinse out both but only replace one of them at a time. So if you clean the filters every other week, replace the carbon bag during the first cleaning, then replace the foam piece 2 weeks later during the next cleaning, and keep alternating that way.

[Salmonantha]

Ok, thanks for your help!

[marisa]

The slight pink in the seam looks like they're growing, perhaps a bit too fast.

[Salmonantha]

Growing too fast? How would I slow down that process/what would be making them grow so fast?

[DavidY]

Usually warm water temperatures (in the 80's or more) and overfeeding especially high protein or high fat foods will cause rapid growth which isn't healthy.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

How does rapid growth make them get pink though?

[DavidY]

I dunno. Like I said, I can't see any pink anyway.

[Salmonantha]

Ok, yea I'm gonna need to be keeping a closer watch on their diets!

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I can see pink in there, not alot of it, but I see it. Hmmm..maybe marisa know's?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I was on the kingsnake forum's and I came across a post from someone:

"Since he's a baby, TAKE HIM TO A VET IMMEDIATELY!!!!!!!!!

Respiratory Infections can kill a turtle. My vet told me this trick to determine if a turtle is sick. Don't use it as a serious indicator though. Turn the little guy over and look at the bottom of the shell. If it looks pink, it's the blood gathering near his digestive tract to try to defend from the virus. However, some turtles have shells that are naturally pinkish. You're vet (if you find one) will probably give you shots to inject. Check out the website of a herp society, they'll probably have listings of vets that can treat turtles. good luck!"

Is this true?