How your turtle looks can tell you a lot about the health of the animal, if you notice that there is a change in your pet’s appearance, if the animal’s feet start turning white, then you’d understandably begin to worry
This article is a look into why your turtle’s feet may be turning white.
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Why are my turtle’s feet white?
The skin on your turtle’s feet is usually dark brown, black, or dark green, so white appearing on your pet’s skin will understandably be quite alarming to you
Here are some reasons why your turtle’s feet may be turning white:
Shedding:
One simple reason why your pet’s feet may be turning white may be because the skin is shedding. Turtles will start to shed if the water temperature in their enclosure is too high or if they are being overfed.
What to do:
Check what the optimal temperature for your species of turtle is and adjust the temperature in your pet’s enclosure accordingly.
You may also need to start to limit how much food you’re giving your pet, these animals should only be given the amount of food that would fit in their head, without the neck, at any given time
Mineral deposits:
Another reason why your turtle’s skin may be turning white is the animal’s water. Hard water can cause mineral deposits on your pet’s skin or shell, and this may be the white on your pet’s feet.
What to do:
Remove your pet from the enclosure, replace the hard water with soft water, put your pet back in, and watch to see if the white on your pet’s feet disappears or continues to grow.
Skin fungus:
Another of the reasons why your turtle’s feet may be turning white may be that the animal has a skin fungus and it’s showing up on their feet.
Skin fungus, on turtles, start as white or grey patches of skin in one area, these white or grey patches grow and spread across the rest of the animal’s body if not adressed.
This condition may develop because of poor water quality, or an inadequate basking area.
Other signs of this condition in your pet, in addition to the white patches on the skin, include faking, peeling, blistering of the skin, and a sudden cheeselike material on the animal skin
What to do:
This condition can be treated at home. To do this, get your pet out of its tank, wash its whole body off with some warm water, and gently scrub your pet using a soft toothbrush.
Once you’re done with the scrubbing soak your pet in a commercial antifungal solution for turtles. If you don’t have access to this then you can soak the reptile in solution of 1 part povidone iodine to 100 parts water.
Dry the animal off and use an antibiotic treatment, that contains betadine, on the fungal patches
You also need to disinfect your turtle’s tank before you put the animal back into it. Use a solution made up of 1 part chlorine to 100 parts water.
You need to soak your pet daily until the fungus disappears. A 15-minute soak daily should be enough to get the fungus to disappear.
If your pet’s condition does not get better then you’d need to consult a vet, who has experience with reptiles, to get an accurate diagnosis and treatment
Taking your pet to the vet for regular checkups is also recommended to keep other issues at bay.
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 Is My Tortoise’s Mouth Black?, Why Is My Tortoise Frothing At The Mouth?, Why Is My Turtle’s Mouth Green?, Why Is My Tortoise’s Mouth Green?, Why Do Tortoises Like Corners?, Why Do Tortoises Like Shoes?, Why Do Tortoises Like Feet?, Why Is My Turtle’s Mouth Foaming?, Why Are My Turtle’s Eyes Red?