Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my turtle shell looks like its falling apart.
it has cracks but the turtle lives fine with no sign of illness.

here is a picture:

what can i do to fix it?
what should i do when i cant afford the doctor?

here is another picture:

it looks very bad.

to me, that looks like shell rot, or the parts seperating from over feeding i would get that looked at

Wow. That doesn't look good. I do agree with the other post, that it is either some kind of rot/shell condition or the shell segments separating from over feeding.

To help us help you better, we need more information. Can you provide info on the turtle's set up, age, how long you've had it, what you feed it, how often you feed it, etc. All of that will help us try to pinpoint the cause of the shell issues much better.

Regardless of the cause, you need to take it to a vet, asap. A shell issue of that severity must be treated by a vet.

In my first experiance with a turtle, I had a problem much like this, but it didnt look quite as bad, the shell seemed to just start to fall apart, like the stuff holding the scutes together got soft. According to descriptions, it is some type of calcium deficiency, a bone disease. I dont know if that is the same as what your turtle has but I would take her to a vet. It does not look like any shell rot I have seen, and I have seen my share of shell rot. Hope shes ok!!