Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello all......I have a big problem I think. I checked on Squirt yesterday afternoon and lo and behold he was covered with magenta colored spots. Only on his skin......mostly on his legs and up into the cavities where he pulls them into himself, and a few on his neck. He had moved out of the moss and was buried under the grass area when I found him. I am thinking that maybe the sod had some sort of chemical on it that caused this condition. In the whole period of time that I have had him he has never buried under the grass area and has never had any of these spots appear on him.

Anyway......I soaked him and he drank a good drink of water, then he also ate some mealworms. I will not let him hibernate any longer I suppose since he ate. Anyway.....do any of you have any idea of what these spots could be? I am thinking they are some sort of fungus or something.....though they are not raised or anything. It actually looks like someone took a q-tip and put some little spots of dye on him. They don't seem to be bothering him since he was more than eager to eat yesterday.

I will take him to the vet as soon as I can, though tomorrow is out as I have a full schedule that will not allow me to do so. Hopefully on Tuesday I can get him there though. In the meantime.....is there something I can do for him? I just don't want it to get any worse before I get him seen though. I really hope it is nothing serious. Oh, I did take out all the moss and replace it just in case that might have had something to do with it. But I really don't think so since I have kept the peat moss in there ever since I got him some 16 months ago. (Not the same moss......I change it out frequently!) That is why I am thinking it might be the dirt where the grass is. Any thoughts on this problem. Have any of you ever had anything like this happen to any of your turtles? Should I be keeping him dry and not let him bury again? Any advice you all can give me will be greatly appreciated until I can get him/her to the vet. Thanks in advance! .........9boxies

could it possibly be fertilizer? can you scrub it off him?.. maybe a pic?

I kind of tried to use my fingers yesterday to see if it would come off while he was soaking in the water, but it didn't. Do you suppose it would hurt to put a little soap, like basis or the non-perfumed dove on a q-tip and see if it comes off? Oh, I will see if I can get a photo of Squirt and put it on here. ....9boxies

I think I finally figured out how to post a picture of Squirt's spots on here. Anyway.......they are going away as he has soaked several times now. And no, I haven't gotten him to the vet yet. Since they are fading in color I just think it really is something in the soil the sod was growing in. I never thought about it when I put that sod into the box for Squirt....but I guess it would make sense that the grass is fertilized when it is planted since it needs to look nice so people will buy it for their lawns.

I have put Squirt into a different container until it warms up nicely so I can move him outside into one of the large wooden boxes with only the astro turf bottom and peat moss for him to bury in. Oh, and of course his water at the other end of the box. You all have a good day! ...........9boxies

That is really odd looking but it does look like some sort of stain on the skin.
If it's washing off then I'd be inclined to chalk it up to the substrate causing the problem.
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PHRatz

just adding.. HE looks more like a SHE to me.

Well, I called Squirt a "he" just because. Kind of like when I am talking about a car and say "isn't she pretty!"

Anyway....Squirt is the little turtle that was taken to school and given to my daughter (who is a teacher) about 16 months ago when he/she was the size of a quarter. The lady knew I had turtles, and since their dog was finding and killing all the baby turtles in their backyard she wanted to try and save this one from that fate. I just am not sure about the sex of Squirt.......and when that is the case I just pick one when I am talking about him/her. ......9boxies

OOoh ok being really young explains that smooth beautiful skin Squirt has.
Aside from the stain I thought wow that's some really healthy looking skin on that turtle.
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PHRatz

Yes, Squirt is a young turtle. I am not really sure what type of box he is though as he is not like my others who are ornates. Or he isn't marked like them anyway. Maybe I should try and put a picture of him so ya'll can tell me what kind he is. ...9boxies

>>Yes, Squirt is a young turtle. I am not really sure what type of box he is though as he is not like my others who are ornates. Or he isn't marked like them anyway. Maybe I should try and put a picture of him so ya'll can tell me what kind he is. ...9boxies

YES do that!! I always love to look at pictures.
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PHRatz