Musk Turtle Shell Care Questions

[CassieAnne]

Hello all. I am new here but not new to the turtle world. That being said I have learned a lot and now that I have learned more I have been changing the care and enclosure for our Musk Turtle "Max". We got hom as a captive bred hatchling about 10 years ago. I am open to taking him to the exotic Veterinarian but would prefer not to stress him out further if I can help him at home.
*Set up: 55 gallon tank with the water level about 1/3 filled.
-Water filter is the slow flow filter recommended by the vet. 20% Water change weekly. Filter change every other week.
-Water temp is 77*F (was 80*F until today).
- Ambient temp is 68*F - 76*F. Depending on the time of year. We are in MN. There is no direct light from windows - we have tank background on his tank and a thin curtain.
-Reptisun 5.0 UVB (which also emits a small amount of UVA) have had this for about 3 months as the other brand we had was subpar at best.
-No basking bulb. The last one we had exploded last year. Just bought a ZooMed 50watt Tuff Bulb to add.
-Feeding every other day. 8-10 of the Tetra ReptoMin Sticks. Ordered Omega One Adult Turtle Sticks. He refuses all greens.
-He is active and interactive. We do not take him out of his home. He sleeps at night out of the water on the left side (opposite of the bulb end).
- He does come out of the water frequently during the day recently. Not sure if that is due to the time of the year or the water is too warm or something else.
-Concerned about what is on his shell unsure of this is retained shed or rot. (Photos from 5 years ago show a solid black looking shell. At that time he had no IVA/UVB lighting.
*Unsure if I can gently wipe away or if he needs medication/veterinary attention. He is our family pet and we appreciate any advice you can offer.

 

[EppsDynasty]

Good Day ... I am no turtle expert but do have an assortment of them, including 2 Razorback Musk Turtles. The first thing I see in your pictures is that the lights are on a screen, the screen is blocking the light you are trying to give to your turtle. The light needs to have no obstruction of any kind, only air in between light and turtle. You will not know if you are actually giving UVB without a Solar Meter. They are a little pricey but there is no other way to make sure you are giving UVB correctly. The second thing is the filter, a vet said use that? I'm sorry but any pump in the tank is noisy and I feel stressful for the Turtle. The filter I prefer is a Canister filter that is outside the tank and way better at actually filtering water. I don't see anything alarming on the shell, but again am no expert. I am sure though he needs proper UVB and Temperatures.

 

[Yvonne G]

I'm wondering if it's the start of fungus. Is the water clean? I'll send an alert to @Markw84

 

[CassieAnne]

Good Day ... I am no turtle expert but do have an assortment of them, including 2 Razorback Musk Turtles. The first thing I see in your pictures is that the lights are on a screen, the screen is blocking the light you are trying to give to your turtle. The light needs to have no obstruction of any kind, only air in between light and turtle. You will not know if you are actually giving UVB without a Solar Meter. They are a little pricey but there is no other way to make sure you are giving UVB correctly. The second thing is the filter, a vet said use that? I'm sorry but any pump in the tank is noisy and I feel stressful for the Turtle. The filter I prefer is a Canister filter that is outside the tank and way better at actually filtering water. I don't see anything alarming on the shell, but again am no expert. I am sure though he needs proper UVB and Temperatures.

Thank you for your fast response. We do not have a screen on that side. There is a cover on the left side but on the right the top is open - no screen of any kind. Thank you! Do you have a canister that you like and would recommend. I will invest in the solar meter. The temp gun we bought has been invaluable I appreciate your help!

 

[CassieAnne]

I'm wondering if it's the start of fungus. Is the water clean? I'll send an alert to @Markw84

Thank you. A musk turtle group moderator thought it appears to be retained shed flakes from the water temp being too warm and needing a warmer basking light not just the UVA/UVB. I remedied the water temperature and the basking light and used a baby toothbrush to gently assist in cleaning up some of the stuck flakes. They also said that all water conditioners for turtles are toxic so I did a 50% water change and used filtered water from our sink. It took 4 hours for the water to come back up to 76*F. We can only run cool water through the sink faucet filter otherwise it will mess up the sink filter components. It is going to be an additional amount of time to do the water changes this way and I am not really a fan of having him out of the water that long waiting for the water to go from 70*F to 76*F but I don't want to use anything toxic either. This is how he looks this morning. His water was finally up to temp at 1:30am. He did not sleep out on his dock like he has been doing. So In think the water temp is more comfortable for him. He is active and sassy as usual today.

 

[TammyJ]

I love how big their heads are, really cute!

 

[CassieAnne]

I love how big their heads are, really cute!

Me too! We adore him!

 

[TammyJ]

@Moozillion

 

[EppsDynasty]

Thank you for your fast response. We do not have a screen on that side. There is a cover on the left side but on the right the top is open - no screen of any kind. Thank you! Do you have a canister that you like and would recommend. I will invest in the solar meter. The temp gun we bought has been invaluable I appreciate your help!

I use a Fluval 107 on a 40 gallon with the 2 Razorbacks. I wish I would have went larger though (207 or 307). This filter will dramatically change your water quality.

 

[Markw84]

Looks like old, retained scutes. Possibly it also could be calcium deposits on the carapace with repeated out of water basking/back and forth. Especially with your frequent water changes if you have high calcium/mineral levels in your water. Does not look like any shell rot or fungus.

I do not do frequent water changes. I let the filter do the work and change water maybe once every three months or so. With a single musk turtle, maybe only twice a year. An in tank filter is fine, if you have one with enough filtering capacity. Zoo Med recently came out with a nice, in tank turtle filter that works quite well. Cannister filters are great, but a problem to work properly with tanks where the water level is 8" or more from the top of the tank.

 

[CassieAnne]

Thank you so much!!!!! I truly appreciate your help. Our water is very mineralized. I will check out the Zoo Med options. The in tank filter option was based on the lower water level. The one we have now is for 40 gallons and we have about 30-35 gallons in the tank. Would you advise against the water conditioners? Do you think they are toxic?

 

[CassieAnne]

Thank you so much!

 

[EppsDynasty]

Thank you so much!!!!! I truly appreciate your help. Our water is very mineralized. I will check out the Zoo Med options. The in tank filter option was based on the lower water level. The one we have now is for 40 gallons and we have about 30-35 gallons in the tank. Would you advise against the water conditioners? Do you think they are toxic?

I do not use any water conditioners, that is just putting more chemicals in the water.

As long as the "Canister" is below the water level in the tank you should have no issues with it functioning. Canisters as well have way more beneficial bacteria to help condition the water and have a healthier environment. The fluval series I mentioned are fantastic at working with little water or low water levels. Would you want to sleep with an electric motor running next to you? Didn't think so.

 

[Moozillion]

I agree with Markw84. He’s “da man” for aquatic turtles in my book!
I have a canister filter because I also had fish in with my musk turtle, and needed to keep it more clean than for a turtle alone.

 

[EppsDynasty]

I agree with Markw84. He’s “da man” for aquatic turtles in my book!
I have a canister filter because I also had fish in with my musk turtle, and needed to keep it more clean than for a turtle alone.

Right on. I do honestly feel they are much better for water quality. And yes @Markw84 is a very knowledgeable turtle man.