General Care Discussion :: help shell discolouration

[turtle_nz]

hey
i'm new, and after searching for a while to try and find a solution, i've decided to post.
I brought my baby RES on 16/09/06 so haven't had him long, also not sure how old he is.. He has some white discolouration on his shell which doesn't come off (as much as i can tell), and since i dnt know much about turtles im a bit worried.

his water is 30c, he has a UVA and UVB fluro bulb (but he doesn't seem to bask?) has external filter (which filters 1000L per hr). He's been eating fine? I feed him something i brought from the petshop.. smells like fish

any other info you want, let me know.
thanks guys

picture shows what shell looks like (it is dry)

[flutterby]

I'm not sure if the fact that you've had him a month and a half and he asked basked made his shell that color. But his water is way TOO warm it should be about 24-25C and his basking temps should be about 32c.


Can you please describe his set up please? or answer the questions here http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142

[turtle_nz]

How big is your turtle? about 4-6cm
How long have you had it? 1 month

What is the water temperature? 30 degrees C
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 300L
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes, aquaone cf1000

What is the basking temperature? umm?
Is there a basking light? only reptile specific fluro bulb
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? rocks
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? fish mix? (pre packaged from pet shop)
When was the last time your turtle ate? yesterday

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? tank is 1.8M X .5M X .5M
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms - no turtle seems fine, doesn't seem to bask, could be light? (where he came from they were basking under a fluro bulb?) pet shop told me that discoloration is from lack of sunlight?? does this sound right to you guys?

his tank...

[BullDog]

I agree with flutterby. 30C is too warm. Since I'm assuming it's summer there, if your house stays pretty warm, you don't even need a heater...
Is the light you have a uvb light? Did it say somewhere on the packageing x% uvb (for example, 5.0)?
I'm not sure what sort of food the fish mix you're feeding him... Is it turtle food? Or fish food?

[turtle_nz]

the UVB is 2% .. the bulb is called a "reptile 2.0" so it is designed for reptiles apparently.

Where we live a nice warm day would be 20-25 degrees, so we dnt really get weather like that all that often! (were way down in the southern part of the world ) ... but i will turn down the temp

The food is called "Turtle Dinner" and was recommended by the pet store I got the turtle from.

[BullDog]

2% is a bit low. I believe the recomended strength is between 5-10%. How close is it positioned to his basking area?

[turtle_nz]

hrm, will have to investigate getting a better bulb then maybe....
its positioned directly above the basking area, although I've never seen him outta the water in the month I've had him.

[SpotsMama]

The temperature in the basking area must be warmer than the water temperature to motivate the turtle to get up and bask. In the fahrenheit world the rule of thumb is that the basking area must be at least 10 degrees warmer than the water. Thus the need for a heat lamp of some sort in addition to a UVB source. For me the good basking temperature is around 88 degrees fahrenheit. Don't know how that would translate in your celcius world.

The flourescent UVB bulbs don't generate enough heat for a basking area. You can get a separate light to use in addition to your UVB bulb for heat - a regular incancescent bulb generates heat, or there are ceramic heaters which have the advantage of not shattering if water splashes on them.

There are also mercury vapor bulbs (MVB) which emit all the radiation needed - heat, UVA and UVB rays. The MVBs are expensive (around $50 up per bulb in my experience) and you have to be careful what type of lamp you put them in (the lamp must be capable of holding a very hot very high wattage bulb - usually a ceramic fixture is required) and if water splashes on them they can shatter like a regular incandescent bulb, so you don't want them too close to the water. The MVBs are too powerful for a tank less than 55 gallons or so, but your humongous 200 gallon tank should accomodate one just fine.

Hope this helps!

[turtle_nz]

google is brilliant for conversions! hehe
I'm going out this very moment to investigate getting better lighting for the tank..
im going to get this right if it kills me

[SpotsMama]

That's the spirit! You've already come so far, might as well go all the way. It takes some effort - and some false starts - for anyone to get the setup just right, but once you do, then it hums right along and life is good!

[turtle_nz]

UVB 8% bulb found.. heh.. just need the $$ to buy one..

my heater blew up today.. grr just as well i had a spare! hehe

turned down the temp, and put a normal bulb above his basking area to increase temp there..

i have never seen a MVB for sale here.. can you use any mvb bulb? like one for horticulture? or does it have to be specificly for reptiles?

[CountryGirl68]

T-Rex brand makes MVB bulbs for reptiles. You should check them out. They provide both UVB and heat.

[turtle_nz]

since i've turned down the temp (and probabley saved my powerbill) and put my lightbulb above his basking area, he is actually comin outta the water and onto his rock!

so hopefully with him on the rock, and with the 8% UVB bulb i'll buy ths week everything will b cool

T-Rex brand makes MVB bulbs for reptiles. You should check them out. They provide both UVB and heat.

I don't think that we can buy that brand locally here in new zealand, and alot of suppliers in the US dnt like to ship this far!..

[marisa]

Can you get Reptisuns? They have to be used with a heat lamp, but you can use a regular light bulb to provide this.

BTW, the 2% UVB is inadequate for your turtle. A Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0 would be good.

[turtle_nz]

i wish the pet shop that i brought the bulb from had told me that in the beginning, I didn't know you could get different %'s till yesterday and now i find that the 8% is about $10 dearer than the 2%... grrr

oh well.. I'm not entirely sure what brands we can get here, its rather limited as we are such a small country in general .. on the plus side, were in the future compared to the US