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We just got a new RES a week ago, and she's under a year old. She's still getting used to us, but she's finally worked up the nerve to start basking around us, and she does it a LOT. lol We also noticed that she will sometimes sleep on her basking spot at night (when her basking light is off). Just today we noticed some discoloration on her shell (with decreasing discoloration on the edges), and it's definitely gotten a little worse since the day we got her.

The water in her tank appears clean (and we've already changed some of it a couple times), but the water in our city is definitely hard. So we were wondering if the discoloration could be from hard water deposits, or from too much exposure to the basking light (the temp is ~93degrees). Or if it has something to do with scute shedding.


Thanks in advance for your guys' help!!

I'm no expert (and I will leave the real answer to the experts here), but I've noticed my turtles look a little "off" with their markings a bit before they start shedding. I'm curious to see what other people think it might be.
(also, cute turtle!)

Thanks for your reply!!
Since this is our first turtle ever, I have really no idea what to expect.. we just dont want to be late on a crucial diagnosis..
And she is awesome otherwise..

First id get used to saying he instead of she haha, you have a male. Next as to the discoloration. It doesnt look like fungus but it doesnt look like shedding really but it could be. Just keep an eye on it. Maybe even take your turtle out of the tank and dry dock her until her shell is dry then take a pic and post it. Then while dry if you press on scute does any water come out at edges of scutes? Also smell the area just to make sure it doesnt smell bad. Just covering all the bases here.

Wait what? She is a he? The woman at the pet store told us that she is a girl cos of her long tail (not very visible in the pictures).
I will try and take pictures of her dry asap and post them.. also check for the other things that you mentioned..
Thanks a lot for your response

Yup, you have a boy. Congrats!

~sigh another petstore victim ~ good old petstore employees .... Always giving wrong info. Never listen to them. 9 out 10 times they actually have no idea what their saying.

Males, have long claws and a long thick tail.

Females, will have short claws with a short tail.

Bonus of having a boy - you never have to worry about eggs or being egg bound or anything of that sort.

And they don't get as big as females, so a 75 gallon is sufficient for their lifetime.

What's your water temperature? Basking at night (when the light is off) could be an indication of water that is too cold.

We're going through identity crisis, while our turtle is fine apparently! We've decided to change his name to Mozzie (any white collar fans out there?) And you're right, a boy means no surprise babies!

We took your guys' advice and took a picture of him with a dried off shell, and while it doesn't smell, it does feel slightly softer in the discolored areas than the brighter edges. If I pressed slightly firmly, I could see a faint impression of my fingerprint on it... I can't imagine that's normal? He also seemed a little more aggressive than normal (snapping at me when we were checking his shell, and chasing the fish more aggressively.) I'm not sure if he's in pain from his soft shell. There wasn't any water discharge from under his scutes, though.

His water temperature has been around 72 - we have been talking about getting a water heater now that it's getting colder. Regarding night basking, now that he's got a turtle topper, he likes sleeping on the underwater platform.

I'm attaching pictures here. Any suggestions? Thanks again, guys!

It sort of looks like shedding, but not quite the visual we're used too. If you gently press against those scutes and clear water seeps out, then I would lean towards just shedding. He could also be becoming melanistic which is throwing off the colors. However, I would take a closer look a the scute near the bottom of the picture.

I dont know what to say actually... I really dont like how it looks. Since i dont want to give wrong advice, ill just say if it was me id let my vet look at him.

steve wrote:Yup, you have a boy. Congrats!

Diamondbacks4Life wrote:First id get used to saying he instead of she haha, you have a male.

Not to thread hijack, but how do you guys get that it is a male? She said it wasn't even a year old? I though an RES had to be at least "mature" to sex it?

I know about the longer nails and fatter/longer tail; i'm just curious.


As for the shell: i would try to find a vet, it's either NOTHING at all, just shedding, or it could be very bad like soft shell!

CactusJohn5 wrote:Not to thread hijack, but how do you guys get that it is a male? She said it wasn't even a year old? I though an RES had to be at least "mature" to sex it?

Maturity isnt determined by age in turtles, its actually determined by shell size. At 4 inches the turtle will show signs if its male or female. Ill just say first the petsore owner probably has no idea what they are talking about. Couldnt even tell sex of it. She probably just guessed on the age. Alot of res can hit 4inches in a year. So id say that res is at least a year old.

Good example: In the wild a female res takes 5-7years for her be mature enough to be able to lay eggs. Ive heard of people that have way over fed their turtles and by age 2 they are already large enough and started laying.

Diamondbacks4Life wrote:Good example: In the wild a female res takes 5-7years for her be mature enough to be able to lay eggs. Ive heard of people that have way over fed their turtles and by age 2 they are already large enough and started laying.

And that is why i am always open to learning, and asking questions:

I always thought it was Age based for maturity.

Yes i have know plenty of people who overfeed and get 4 inches in the first year.

Thanks Diamondback for the education!