Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My 3 inch spiny softshell smells AWFUl! Not his cage but him in particular. I have a very good carbon filter, (Penguin 330) and a 55 gallon tank. I change the water frequently but lately i hardly ever see him, he is always buried in the sand and i never see he him eat anything unless I drop it right in front of him, and he wont come to the surface to eat. He is very shy. I noticed his cage smelled bad and i just cleaned out the water the day before and it usually doesnt smell bad. I picked him up and was like WOW and i thought he might have a fungus but the black dots could be part of his pattern but these looked a little different.

P.S. he shares the tank with a 1 1/2 inch mississippi mud, and am using several water conditioners, and a water temp at 75 degrees.

I hate to sound like a broken record but the place to start is more water changes.
Then examine the turtle closely (i know its hard with softies as they don't lie to be handled. maybe a friend can help)
See if you can see the source of the odor. He may have a lesion with necrotic (rotting or dead) tissue near it.

I'd isolate him form the sand and the filter and the other turtle and just keep him in a small plastic box or tub for a few days an change the water every day (or more often). See if the smell persists.