TURTLE HEALTH

SOFT SHELL
This is caused either through lack of adequate light leading to a vitamin D deficiency or a lack of calcium in the diet.

PNEUMONIA
Turtles can easily catch a chill which can lead to pneumonia. The most frequent cause of this problem is a cold environment. Tanks may need to be covered over night during winter months, especially if the tank is in a cold part of the house.

SALMONELLA
Turtles are natural carriers of salmonella and as a consequence strict standards of personal hygiene must be followed. Ensure that hands are well washed after handling your turtle!

BACTERIAL SHELL INFECTION
This appears as white blotches on the turtles shell. We believe that it caused by your turtle unable to completely dry itself whilst sunning due to the humidity within the tank being to high. If you have a glass lid on your tank remove part of the glass lid above the sunning area. This will reduce some of the humidity problem.The infection will stop spreading once the Turtle is able to dry off regularly, but the blotches will remain until your turtle sheds the outer layer of its scutes. Even though your turtle will shed these outer layers annually it may take two or three sheddings for the white blotches to completely disappear. (2 -3 years.)

As your Turtle gets used to the movement around it's enclosure / tank, it will be more inclined to bask when you're there. Ensure that your UVB bulb is changed as per the manufacturers recommendations, and that the UVB light is unfiltered ie; there is no Perspex or glass on your light fitting or between your Turtle basking area and your light fitting. It may even be more beneficial to have a 60 watt basking lamp above your Turtle when it is basking. This will aid in the drying out of the shell. This lamp can be turned on in the morning and off at night.