You as a pet turtle owner are likely doing the best you can to make sure that your pet is as healthy as possible.
So if your turtle starts to develop white spots on its feet then you’d likely think that the animal isn’t healthy.
This article looks into why there are white spots on your turtle’s feet.
Table of Contents
White spots on turtle feet:
Providing the best care possible for your pet turtle will give it a better chance of living a long and healthy life.
The best care includes treating any issues that your pet has. Here is why your pet turtle has white spots on its feet:
Shedding on legs:
The scaly skin that covers your turtle’s legs, arms, and head can shed and the white spots on your pet’s feet may be the beginning of this shedding.
Shedding is a normal part of life for turtles. The shedding is a sign that the animal is growing well and needs to slough off the old skin as it grows.
What to do:
Shedding is normal and you shouldn’t be worried about it.
You don’t have to try to help the animal’s skin peel off, in fact, you should not try to help the animal’s skin peel off
What you can do is make sure the water in your pet turtle’s tank is clean. Also, avoid using hard water in the tank.
Hard water can cause your reptile’s skin to shed uncontrollably. Your pet’s diet during this time is also very important.
Feeding vitamin A to your turtle will also help to ensure that your pet has healthy skin before, during, and after shedding.
These animals generally shed annually so if you find that your pet’s feet are shedding uncontrollably, then you may want to have your pet seen by a vet.
Mineral deposits:
Hard water can also cause white spots to develop on your pet’s feet. Hard water is water that has too much dissolved calcium and magnesium in it.
If you have hard water in your pet’s tank then you may have noticed white patches on the glass.
These white patches are mineral deposits, namely calcium carbonate and magnesium deposits, on your pet’s tank.
The mineral deposits may also develop on your pet’s legs just as they develop on the glass of the tank.
This is more of a white chalky residue and may look like large patches on your pet’s legs and the rest of its body.
What to do:
Using hard water in your pet’s tank isn’t advised as the white residue left on your pet’s skin can cause the skin to deteriorate over time.
Remedy this situation by changing your pet’s water to soft water. Also, quarantine your pet for a couple of weeks and keep the animal dry during this time.
Fungus:
A fungal infection is another reason why your pet may have white spots on its legs.
The spots that a turtle with a fungal infection will develop may be white, grey, or grey-white and may be fuzzy. Fungal infections may be caused by a lack of UVB.
This may happen because the animal doesn’t have a light source, access to the sun, or, because it has inadequate basking space.
What to do:
The first thing you should do is isolate your pet keeping it away from other turtles. Taking your pet to the vet to be diagnosed and treated is the next step.
If you enjoyed this article then you may also be interested in other turtle/tortoise related articles. Here are some articles that you may be interested in: Why Does My Tortoise Keep Hitting The Glass?, Why Is My Tortoise So Active At Night?, White Spots On Turtle Head, Turtle With White Spots On Head, Can A Tortoise Go Into Shock?, Why Does My Turtle Follow Me?, Turtle Biting Shell, Why Is My Turtle Biting Everything?, Tortoise Skin Rot