Baby pink bellied

Terry51563

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These white spots are on one of my baby pink bellied. What is it? What do I need to do? I thought maybe it was that she got up against the heater so I fixed it where she can't now but she has more spots.

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Yvonne G

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Looks like some sort of fungus. I'm not a water turtle person, so take my post with a grain of salt (that's funny, because that's what I'm going to suggest). Clean out the aquarium then when you add fresh water, add a little salt to the water. I'll send a shout-out to one of our regulars who posts in the water turtle section - @Markw84
 

Markw84

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Agree with Yvonne. That does look like a skin fungus. I fight that frequently with Diamondback Terrapins who are not kept in brackish water as they become very susceptible to that. The pink bellied turtles are sensitive to water conditions and if not really clean will develop this as well. You really need good water quality for them. Also, as Yvonne suggests, adding a bit of non-iodine salt to the water will help. (rock salt / water softener salt)

To treat, I put the turtle in a bath of betadine, just high enough to totally cover the shell. Add enough to make the water a dark tea color and leave the turtle in for about 20 min. This stops the fungus spread and should only be done once as it will slow healing if repeated. After the soak, spread an antifungal cream on the white areas you can see. Athletes foot cream will work. Keep the turtle dry-docked and warm for a few days, giving it a 30 min soak in fresh water once a day to feed it as well. reapply antifungal after the baths.

It seems turtles that come from areas with naturally more acidic waters are more prone to this as well. Not sure about the areas in Austrailia or New Guinea where this turtle comes from, but I would suspect that. Adding salt to the water will help in this regard. If your water is highly chlorinated, that also can trigger the onset of the fungus.
 

Terry51563

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I have a RO system and that is what I used to fill their tank with. SO should I clean everything in the tank good ? Like with vinegar/water mix?
 

Markw84

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@Terry51563

Just saw your other post. Since you just added another to the tank a week ago or so, there is a good chance the new one was carrying the fungus from the conditions it was kept in and introduced it in your tank. I would put both turtles in the betadine soak and kill the fungus that might be on both. And, perhaps that vinegar wash is a good idea.
 

Terry51563

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@Terry51563

Just saw your other post. Since you just added another to the tank a week ago or so, there is a good chance the new one was carrying the fungus from the conditions it was kept in and introduced it in your tank. I would put both turtles in the betadine soak and kill the fungus that might be on both. And, perhaps that vinegar wash is a good idea.
They both came from the same place so they both could have it. I will do both. Thank you so much
 

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