Urgent Care :: dry shell?

[Tiges]

I've had my little turtle for almost a year now. and i've realized if she's out for too long her shell will be like almost gray cuz it's so dry. Im thinking this is bad maybe... how can i fix this? I've tried cleaning her with a tootbrush and soap but it's still the same.

[lydia_lady_fla]

my water comes from a well and contains alot of lime and minerals,therefore every thing that gets wet then drys has a whitish scum look including my turtles shell.could that be whats happening here lime and mineral deposits from your water

[jenaero]

Never never never use soap or any kind of cleanser/chemical or anything on or near your turt or in the habitat. Even a little soap residue can kill.

Seems your problem is hard water. do you use any kind of dechlorinator or water treatment in the tank? It ain't pretty but it's not harmful to your turt.

[marisa]

You could try a little diluted white vinegar. Put some on a q-tip and gently rub it on a white area. Does the white come off?

[Tiges]

well i haven't really tried. i've just noticed that when she's out of the water her shell turns a grayish color. like almost white. but when i put her back in the water it's gone.

[marisa]

It does sound like mineral deposits on the shell. Look here under White Patches on Shell/Mineral Deposit Build-up: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

[Nadia]

I seem to be having the same problem, however I've been using reptisafe water conditioner since I got my turtle (2 mnths ago), why is this occuring?

[marisa]

Are you adding anything else to the water besides Reptisafe? What else do you have in the tank?

[doomsdaybob]

Nadia,
A water conditioning chemical will only aid in the removal of clorine and someother chemicals. It will not remove the minerals from the water. The only way to remove the minerals is a water softening system.

[Nadia]

I have a filter (which is only rated for ten gallons and I have a ten gallon tank with 6 gallons of water in it, but I clean change the water every 3-4 days, I'm in the process of upgrading my whole set up), I have a floating fake rock that is attached to the wall of the tank, and always have cuttle bone and some type of vegi floating, that's all. Where can I get a water softening system? What exactly is this?

[marisa]

Maybe DDB is taking about one for the house? The water where I am is really hard and has a lot of iron in it (it's well water, not from a public water supply). The water goes through a water softener in the basement before coming out of the tap.