Turtles are usually brown, back, and green, and they don’t usually have red spots everywhere, so, if red spots seem to be making their way onto your turtle then you’d understandably be confused
This article is a look into why your turtle has red spots
Table of Contents
Why does my turtle have red spots?
Internal changes in your pet will eventually be seen externally, either on the animal’s body or in how the animal behaves, and red spots on your pet turtle mean that something is up.
Here is why your turtle has red spots:
Infection:
If your pet turtle has developed red spots on its skin then these have likely developed because the animal is suffering from a skin infection.
A variety of things could have led to your pet developing a skin infection, things like stale water in the tank, which could have become a breeding ground for pathogens, lack of exposure to the sun, or even rotting material in the tank
What to do:
You need a professional to check your turtle and confirm that the animal has an infection. Take your pet to a vet, or better yet, a herp vet, for an examination and diagnosis.
Keep infections from developing in your pet in the future by keeping the animal healthy.
Do this by giving your pet an appropriate diet and by making sure that your pet’s environment is optimal for the animal.
If you can’t immediately get your pet to the vet then it’s recommended that you dry dock the animal for the next couple of days.
Make sure that your pet stays hydrated by placing it in a shallow container of water for a few hours a day. The animal will drink the water and hydrate itself during this time.
Clean the red spots twice daily using a dilute iodine solution, mix iodine and water at a ratio of 1 to 10 to make the solution
Iodine is usually stocked at human pharmacies or at regular grocery stores, look in the first aid section of your grocery store.
Type of turtle:
Another reason why your pet turtle may have red spots on it may be because of the type of turtle it is.
The big bend slider for example may look similar to the red-eared slider but this type of turtle usually has an orange or redish dot, boarded by black, behind its eye.
The box turtle, the three-toed box turtle in particular, will have red, orange, or yellow spots on its head.
Some turtles, when looked at from afar, will appear to have red markings on their heads and these may actually be orange markings when looked at up close, this is the case with the Texas map turtle
What to do:
These markings are normal for these types of turtles, you don’t have to worry if you see these types of markings on these types of turtles.