Seeing your turtle turn pink can be quite surprising, this color change will make you worry about your pet. Turtles are known as green and brown creatures so pink on the animal will confuse you.
This article looks into why your turtle is pink.
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Why is my turtle pink?
Flamingos are pink, this is normal for them but this color on a turtle is unexpected and there is always a reason for this
Here is why your turtle may be pink:
The turtle is still young:
Turtles change as they age, one thing that you may see in your younger turtles that you don’t see in older turtles is pink skin.
A younger turtle will have a pink plastron, the plastron on the bottom side of the turtle that lines the animal’s chest. The older turtles will have yellow plastrons.
The plastron of a younger turtle will be pink because it is so thin that you can see the blood vessels and the blood right under it.
This area will turn yellow as the animal ages and as the plastron becomes thicker and opaque.
What to do:
This is perfectly normal and isn’t something that you’d need to worry about. Allow the little animal to age, this pink will disappear on its own.
It is inactive:
Another reason why your turtle may be pink is because of inactivity. If your pet turtle is older, and its skin starts turning pink then the animal has likely been inactive for too long.
You’ll know that this is the reason for the color change if there are no other signs of illness or distress in your pet.
What to do:
The plastron should go back to normal once the turtle becomes active again. You can help get the animal active again by adding new things to its enclosure that the animal can interact with.
Inflammation:
Inflammation may also be the cause of the redness in your pet’s skin, inflammation can be caused by issues with water quality. If your pet’s water is high in ammonia, or nitrates then inflammation may develop
What to do:
Testing your pet’s water quality would be the first thing that you’d need to do, or better yet, taking your pet to the vet, who will be able to assess, diagnose, and treat the animal would be better.
Septicemia:
Another reason why your pet turtle may be turning pink may be because the reptile has a condition called septicemia. Septicemia causes the animal’s shell to turn pink and the skin to turn pink.
Septicemia is a type of blood poisoning that is caused by dirty tank water getting into a wound on the animal’s skin. Other signs of this condition in your pet are swelling, lethargy, and appetite loss.
Septicemia is fatal if not treated so addressing the issue as soon as possible is a must.
What to do:
Taking your pet to the vet if it has this condition is recommended, your vet will be able to examine your turtle up close and personal.
If your pet does have septicemia then your vet will give your pet antibiotics to treat the condition
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 Turtle Yawning Underwater?, Why Are My Turtles Eyes Closed, Why Is My Turtle Red?, Why Is My Turtle Twitching, Why Is My Turtle Eating Sand?, Why Is My Turtle Restless?, Why Is My Turtle Yawning?, Why Is My Turtle Tank Foaming?, Why Is My Turtle Whistling