If you notice white spots appearing on your turtle’s shell, it may be a cause for concern. While it may be harmless, there is a chance that it is a sign of poor shell health. In today’s article, I’ll dive into what causes white spots on turtle shells, and what you can do to treat it.
What causes white spots on turtle shell?
The main causes of white spots on a turtle shell are mineral deposits, shell rot, inadequate basking, poor diet, and retained scutes.
I’ll dive into each cause in more detail below. If you’re more of a visual learner, you can also watch my video on this topic.
Mineral deposits
Mineral deposits are one of the most common causes of white spots on turtle shell. This usually happens when you consistently put tap water in your turtle tank and don’t treat it with conditioner. While tap water is fine to use for a turtle tank, you must add a conditioner to it.
A conditioner will help remove chlorine and chloramine, which is commonly found in tap water. If you don’t use a conditioner, these minerals can start to build up on your tank’s glass, and even on your turtle’s shell.
The good thing about mineral deposits is that they are easy to treat. If your turtle’s white spots are caused by mineral deposits, you should be able to easily wash them away using an old tooth brush and some tank water. While you should brush firmly enough to remove the mineral deposits, don’t push down too hard as it can cause pain for your turtle.
While mineral deposits are usually not harmful, they can cause damage to your turtle’s shell if let untreated. Therefore, it’s important to scrub away the deposits on the shell right when you see them.
To prevent this in the future, you may want to add more conditioner to tap water when you put it in your tank.
Shell rot
The white spots on your turtle’s shell might also be caused by a condition called shell rot. Shell rot can be caused by either a bacterial or fungal infection. Below are a couple common signs of shell rot:
- White spots that gradually increase in size
- Shades of pink forming on the spots
- A foul smell coming from the location of the spots
- The white spots are very tender and squish when you press on them
Shell rot can be caused by a wide range of things, including poor diet, dirty tanks, weak basking lights, not basking long enough, etc.
If your suspect your turtle has shell rot, I recommend you take them to the vet if possible. They will help confirm the diagnosis and may administer antibiotics to fight the infection. There is also a chance they administer steroids to help your turtle regain strength in their shell.
If the vet is not an option, there are a couple things you can do to try and treat shell rot at home:
- Dry docking: Transport your turtle to a dry area where they still have access to UVA/UVB light. You should still let them in water for about an hour every day to help prevent dehydration.
- Add more calcium to their diet to help strengthen their shell.
- Ensure that your turtle’s basking temperature is the right temperature, and that your turtle can easily access the dry area.
- Once your turtle’s shell improves, make sure to keep their tank clean once you put them back in.
If left untreated, shell rot can spread to other parts of your turtle’s shell. Not only will this be very painful for your turtle, but in serious cases it can be fatal.
Inadequate basking
If you don’t have a proper basking platform for your turtle, it can weaken their shell and eventually result in white spots. Below are some of the most common mistakes people make with their basking platform:
Too hot
If your turtle’s basking platform is over 100 degrees, over time it can eventually cause burns on your turtle’s shell. This can result in the white spots your observe on their shell.
Too cold
If the basking platform is not at least 10 degrees warmer than the water, you turtle will be less inclined to bask. Basking is very important for your turtle’s shell, as it allows them to produce vitamin D3 and helps them retain calcium, both of which help promote healthy shells. Therefore, a turtle that doesn’t bask enough will eventually develop a weaker shell that can lead to white patches on their shell.
Too hard to access
Another common mistake is that people don’t make their basking ramp easy to access. This usually happens when the ramp is too steep or doesn’t extend far enough into the water. If the basking ramp is not easy to climb, your turtle will not bask as much as they should.
You can learn more in my article about why is my turtle not basking.
Poor diet
Diet is one of the most important elements for keeping a healthy turtle. In order to have a healthy shell, a turtle’s diet must have sources of vitamin D3, calcium, and vitamin E. If your turtle does not have access to these nutrients, it can prevent shell growth and eventually lead to white spots on their shell.
Therefore, it’s super important that you feed your turtle a variety of pellets and vegetables that have these important nutrients.
Retained scutes
Another common cause of white spots on a turtles shell is retained scutes. These usually look more like deformed white patches and can show up anywhere on your turtle’s shell. Retained scutes occur when your turtle does not shed properly, and the old shell does not get cleanly detached from the newly formed shell.
While retained scutes may cause pain for your turtle, they are usually not that dangerous. You can help prevent retained scutes by providing your turtle with the diet mentioned above.
While it may take weeks or months, retained scutes will usually heal on their own. However, if you want to treat them, there are a bunch of moisturizers and conditioners that you can put on your turtles shell.
Conclusion
While spots on your turtle’s shell might cause you to worry, most of the time they are easy to treat. Even in more serious cases such as shell rot, you can almost always heal your turtle’s shell if you catch it early enough.
As mentioned, the best way to prevent white spots on your turtle’s shell in the future is to make sure you have a clean tank, an adequate basking platform, and feed your turtle a diet high in vitamin D3, calcium, and vitamin E.
