Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have two female red eared sliders. They are about 10 years old. They have shed shell before but only this past two weeks am I finding strange looking shell pieces in the tank. let me be more specific..

Normally the shell pieces shed are blackish brownish about the size of a fingernail. this past two weeks though the tank has been littered with bright green pieces that are small. Closer inspection indicates this IS organic material. No changes in tank that can explain sudden appearance of these pieces and there are a lot of them. I inspect the turtles' shells and they appear brown and none of the bright green material is on the shells and there is no sign of shell shedding.

Then today I saw what looked like a 1" formed turd on the bottom and the turd was a collection of these bright green shell shavings.

Can anyone tell me what in the heck is going on here? I am at a loss!

The only thing else I can tell you is the turtles are eating fine but seem to be sleeping more and the smell of the bright green shavings (they look like abalone shell pieces almost) is foul -- like coffee breath.

>>I have two female red eared sliders. They are about 10 years >>
>>The only thing else I can tell you is the turtles are eating fine but seem to be sleeping more and the smell of the bright green shavings (they look like abalone shell pieces almost) is foul -- like coffee breath.

My guess is it's some sort of infection. I think only a vet who can see them in person could tell you exactly what is going on but one thing I do know for sure is that a foul odor is a major red flag. I'd see a vet ASAP if they were mine.
Good luck with them & please let us know what you find out after they've seen the vet.
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PHRatz