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Hi. I just had 2 red eared sliders dropped in my daughters lap.(2 weeks ago) She got the whole set up (55 gal aquarium,canister filter,lights,dock,gravel,ect) we are running approx. 20 gallons of water. Turtles are small (4in and 5in) Water is staying clean, temp is stable at 78deg, basking aera is 90 deg, and their eating well. (beefheart, krill, pellets, & veggie cubes) But we noticed a small spot or crack on the larger turtles shell. Looks like it was dropped or something. Aera is grayish/white and soft to the touch. When the turtle is dry,and the spot is touched, water(?)comes out from the inside. It does not seem to be in pain. The appitite is good, and it is active in the tank. Can we help this critter, and how ?

Check under the urgent care section there is a first aid for shell breaks on it.

Sounds like it has a spot of shell rot, try to dry dock him for awhile to dry the area out and put silvadene cream or neosporin in the area to kill any bacteria in there. Sulfa dip helps too.

Thanks. We'll get started today, and keep you posted with any devlopments.

That sounds pretty bad. You may want to consider taking the turtle to the vet to have it looked at. Sometimes shell breaks are so bad that they need to be wrapped in plastic or kept dry for a while. I'm concerned because grayish/white and soft are bad signs in an adult turtle ...

Without good pictures, we just don't know if this is something bad or if it isn't a scute that is just about to shed off. If it's all but come off, and cracked, wouldn't that be what it looked like?

I just wouldn't want to give a false diagnosis and have this person jumping through hoops for a shedding scute. then again, it could be something bad. Only bas0301 knows how bad it actually looks, so without a pic we just don't know.

You can raise the water level as far as you can without them escaping. 20 gallons is too little for a 4 inch and 5 inch turtle, if they feel like they don't have enough room they might start competing with each other.

Bover- You have a very good point there.

Usually, I would side with bover here. But from the description it doesn't sound like shedding. Get a picture up of the turtle's shell dry to confirm it, but i'm pretty sure that you need to start treating the injury.

Also, take the gravel out of the tank because your turtle can ingest it, be unable to pass it, then die of impaction. There's a sticky thread regarding the dangers of gravel.