Your turtle’s shell is meant to be a strong study structure, so if you notice that the shell becomes brittle and that it has holes in it, then you’d understandably be worried.
This article is a look into why your turtle has a hole in its shell
Table of Contents
Why does my turtle have holes in its shell?
Holes in your turtle’s shell will be worrying to any turtle raiser, this happening with the shell means that something is up.
Here are reasons why your turtle has holes in its shell:
Old injury:
If your pet has a hole in its shell, but there is no exposed flesh, and there is no bleeding in the area, then the hole may have been caused by an injury
The hole acts as a scar, it tells you that an injury happened before, but the shell won’t go back to normal quickly just as the skin of a scar won’t go back to normal quickly
What to do:
You don’t have to worry, this type of hole does not mean that the animal is sick, just that the animal was injured previously.
Eventually, the scutes of the shell will shed, the shell will grow new scutes and the animal’s shell will go back to looking how it did before.
If the injury was very deep, if it affected several layers of scutes, then the grow-out period would be longer
One way to support shell health is by giving your pet Hikari-Sake or Mazuri wheat ferm pellets two times a week as regular feeding for two weeks then offering it once a week, as a regular feeding, ongoing
These pellets help to promote scute shedding and they condition the shell nutritionally
Shell rot:
Another cause of holes in your pet’s shell is a condition called shell rot. This condition develops in turtles who are kept in dirty water or a dirty environment.
While this condition is serious and common, it can easily be prevented with proper husbandry.
While holes, dents, and pitting are some signs of shell rot, there are many other signs.
Other signs of shell rot include white or greyish spots on the shell, mushy areas on the shell, a moldy old gym sock or stagnant water smell on the shell, and raised, flaking scutes on the shell
If the scutes of the shell start to flake and create a puff pasty effect then this is a sign that the infection has advanced.
What to do:
If your pet has dents and holes in its shell then you’d need to take your pet to the vet as soon as possible, this kind of damage to the shell is a sign that the condition is advanced and serious.
The vet will examine the animal, and its shell, to determine if the animal has shell rot. The vet may also give your pet pain management treatments at this time.
The vet will take a sample of the soft areas of the animal’s shell and culture it to get a definitive answer to what is happening
Once it is confirmed that the animal has shell rot the vet will surgically remove the dead tissue on the shell.
Your vet will likely also give your pet either antifungal or antibacterial medications to treat the shell rot
You can prevent this condition from developing in your turtle by making sure that your pet lives in an environment with clean water and a clean enclosure.