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My male turtle very recently started developing something really weird on his shell. It's like the shell's layer is lifting, and allowing pockets of air to form. In the light, it looks like he has gold blotches on his shell.
They're not big areas -- the biggest one is about less than a quarter of an inch long and wide. All are in a circular shape. There are a bunch of them -- over 15.
Otherwise, the shell is great. Hard and durable.

He is very alert, not at all lethargic, great appetite. Very healthily chasing minnows around the tank and displaying average turtle behaviour.

I haven't been able to supply him UVB lighting in the last while because the nearest store around me only sells Fluker UVB lights. BAD experiences with them. They either don't assemble properly, lack the screws they're supposed to come with, and the one that came with all its parts sparked and nearly fell in the tank water!

He does, though, have a warmth lamp, and he dries off completely on his dock. Is this shell rot? Should I worry?

Also, I can't provide a picture, seeing as to how these "blotches" are only visible in the right light. When I hold him and look at his shell, the spots blend in. If I press on the area, the belevelment of the lifting layer is visible, though.

It's easier to imagine it if you think of his shell being sprinkled with metallic gold spray paint. Looks like it in the light.

Sounds to me like it just might be some shedding. When the individual scutes start to lift, they can look like air pockets. Is it possible to lift any of them with a finger nail? If you can get a look underneath, what does the shell look like underneath?

A picture of the shell when it is dry would still help, just to get an overall look.

Ooh...I didn't know the shells shed. A single one that I could get my nail under could be lifted. It was like, DIRECTLY, on the dark line between the scutes. He gets extremely fidgety whenever handled for over ten seconds, so I couldn't do much more than that.

The shell looks average underneath that. Just a natural (and quite pretty) bright green. If I look at where the blotches are really closely, it looks like the area was sanded...and when I brush a finger over the area, it feels like it, too. Not rough texture, but sandy.

:/ Sorry, I don't have a camera in my possession right now...just realized my mom borrowed it.

The scutes will often get a metallic look to them in the water when air is trapped under them as a turtle begins to shed. From what you wrote, the gold blotches don't sound abnormal...

I'm not familiar with Fluker UVB lights...Are you sure you're not talking about the fixtures they sell? You could just buy a clamp lamp at a hardware store or a place like Home Depot and get a Reptisun compact flourescent UVB light to screw into it. In the meantime, can you take your turtle outside for a bit to get some unfiltered sunlight (supervise him while he's out)?

I think the Flukers are more intended to be set face-down on a screen above a reptile rather than to be leaned over water. And yeah, I was talking about the fixture...their clamp-lamps suck something outrageous.

That's a great idea. Home Depot never occured to me.

The times I've taken him outside and placed him in a tub, the water gets so warm, he doesn't feel the need to bask. If I put him outside on the ground, he starts to burrow. :/ What do you recommend?

If you go to Home Depot (or similar store), get a clamp lamp that has a ceramic fixture.

If you put him in a little tub with a small amount of water (never use glass, btw), it will heat up very quickly. One reason why it's good to be there to supervise him. Was any shade provided for him? I used to do partial water changes to keep down the temp. How warm does the water get?