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. By simply removing part of the glass lid above the sunning area will remedy the humidity problem.The infection will stop spreading, 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.)