Your turtle tank isn’t meant to smell like roses and fresh baked goods, but it shouldn’t be an assault on your olfactory system and smell terrible.
This article looks into why your turtle tank smells bad even after cleaning it
Table of Contents
Why does my turtle tank smell bad after cleaning:
Cleaning your pet turtle’s tank should in theory remove dirt and bad smells, but this isn’t always the case. Your pet’s tank may still smell even after you’ve cleaned it
This article looks into why your pet turtle’s tank smells after you’ve cleaned it
Food in filter:
Your pet turtle’s filter is meant to remove all the nasty gunk from your turtle’s tank, but, if the filter itself is the issue then this can’t happen effectively.
A clogged filter isn’t able to clean your pet’s water properly and can be the source of the smell.
What to do:
The manufacturer’s instructions should ideally be what you’re using as a guide as to when to clean the filter.
The instructions will usually instruct to clean the filter out every 2 to 4 weeks, if your filter’s instructions recommend otherwise then follow those instructions.
Using activated carbon along with your filter media may help to absorb any of the odor and impurities in your pet’s tank. This needs to be regularly replaced.
Small filter:
If you have a small filter and too many turtles in the tank, or if the tank is too large for the filter then can also quickly cause the smell to come back even after you’ve cleaned the filter out.
In this case, the small filter will start to become overwhelmed and it can quickly collect waste and release an odor.
What to do:
Make sure that the size of the filter is correct for the tank size. This will ensure that the filtration system is not overwhelmed.
You may need to get a bigger tank, one that will accommodate both turtles, or, you may need to get each turtle its own tank, as well as the other accessories that come with the tank, like a filter and the like.
Not enough water:
If the tank and the filter are correct, but there isn’t enough water in the tank, then this can also cause a smell to come off of your pet’s tank quickly after cleaning.
What to do:
Filling up your tank with water should also help with any smells that may come off of the filter. The water helps to dilute any water that is in the tank until the next tank cleaning.
Shell rot:
If you’ve cleaned the filter, and the tank, and the tank is big enough and isn’t overcrowded then the reason behind the foul smell may be the turtle itself.
If your pet has shell rot then the animal may give off a bad smell and this may be what you’re smelling.
What to do:
Take a look at the animal’s shell observing to see if there have been any changes to the shell. Look for visible fluid under the scutes, scutes lifting away from each other and scutes falling off leaving necrotic bony tissue underneath.
If you see any of these signs on the shell then get your pet to the vet for diagnosis and treatment
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: My Turtle Has A Hole In Its Shell, Is My Turtle Underweight?, Can Turtles Overheat?, My Turtle Keeps Scratching His Eyes, My Turtle Is Spitting Up Blood, My Turtle Only Laid One Egg, My Turtle Only Eats Shrimp, My Turtle Only Eats Lettuce, My Turtle Tank Smells Bad,