Alligator snapping turtle shell HELP!

[kljr]

The white patch doesn't seem to affect him that much, but it's bothering me whenever i'm looking at it.
Here's a video of it that i uploaded:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7DvmUFSgmc

 

[Aaroncboo1]

I have the same thing with my alligator snapper. It's just the scutes shedding like they all do when they grow. If you take a piece of the shell and wash it you should see through it to some degree. I was worried about it the first time I saw it but in a month or two you won't even know it happened.

 

[kljr]

I have the same thing with my alligator snapper. It's just the scutes shedding like they all do when they grow. If you take a piece of the shell and wash it you should see through it to some degree. I was worried about it the first time I saw it but in a month or two you won't even know it happened.

Can i ask if it is even possible that it will heal back to it's normal shell colour?

 

[Aaroncboo1]

Oh Ya. I thought mine had shell rot because he lost several scutes. But I realized that he was just shedding real thick scutes. Mine doesn't shed as much as say a painted turtle which I seem to find a bunch of really thin scutes all the time. Mine got all of the color back after a few months

 

[corn fed]

Your video got blocked do to music copyrights. Dang. I think your turtle will be fine. I say just keep up the good work and all will be good. It's manly just aesthetics now. Plus from the first pic you posted to the last ones it seems the spot is getting darker again. Just my observation. Did you add a basking spot for the turtle? Might as well give it the option just in case it wants to.

Sent from my HTC6600LVW using MonsterAquariaNetwork App

 

[kljr]

An update on my turtle. It's pretty active, huge appetite but it's shell has gotten much worse. Can anyone help me diagnose what's the problem with my turtle? I'm really worried for it, and it's plastron is affected now. The shell is hard, so i don't think it's suffering from shell rot since it's not soft or mushy. It's been more than a year since i last updated this thread. It's plastron is freaking me out, as i've been giving it frequent water changes. Thanks guys!

 

[Aaroncboo1]

What a was told to do although not to the extent of yours was to take him out of the water and put him under a uvb light. That way they dry off completely and helps kill off any fungus that might be on there shell. Wouldn't think that's the problem though because they almost never come out of the water in the wild.

 

[kljr]

The plastron is getting thinner as you can see in the picture, i've tried providing it with a huge varity of meat and vegetables including water change but it doesnt seem to be working. The white part of it's plastron feels hard and smooth while the brown parts feels rough and hard. Really hoping someone can give me some useful advice to cure this guy. Thanks

 

[CretaceousCreatures101]

I don't know this for sure, but it might somewhat explain your turtle's shell.
If you look, the older alligator snappers get, the more smoothed out their shells get as well. The enormous century-old ones only have three raised lines down the back of their carapace rather than lots of individual spikes. I think their shells can just vary in texture.
Another thing that varies a lot among this species is coloration. For example, Crunch, the world's largest captive alligator snapping turtle, is really light colored (almost entirely white). However, other specimens are grey, black, brown, reddish brown, green, etc. I think your AST might just be changing naturally.

 

[clifton]

I don't know this for sure, but it might somewhat explain your turtle's shell.
If you look, the older alligator snappers get, the more smoothed out their shells get as well. The enormous century-old ones only have three raised lines down the back of their carapace rather than lots of individual spikes. I think their shells can just vary in texture.
Another thing that varies a lot among this species is coloration. For example, Crunch, the world's largest captive alligator snapping turtle, is really light colored (almost entirely white). However, other specimens are grey, black, brown, reddish brown, green, etc. I think your AST might just be changing naturally.

Is it just me, or do others who know something about turtles think he's TOO FAT ? The chubby legs puffing outside his shell indicate that he's obese, which is not a good thing. Their growth is slow, and they will gorge themselves if given the opportunity, but as John Richards says, " A fat turtle isn't necessarily a happy turtle over the long term".