Terrapins lacking calcium I think.

[Cliopatra]

Hi everyone. I'm new to this but getting pretty desperate so would like some advice. I recently bought two baby terrapins but yesterday morning I noticed some small white marks on one of their shells. This one hasn't been feeding very well since I bought him in comparison to the other. I read it was a calcium deficiency so I went to the pet shop and bought a calcium block to put in the tank. This is what they recommended in the shop. I was also going to buy reptivite with vitamins for them but was told I did not need it.

I also think the woman in the pet shop where I bought them is at fault as when I bought them she said they were fine without a uv light for a month or so because she gave them plenty of light so at first I didn't buy it but after reading up I bought one two days later. She also told me that they only needed uv light for about 45 minutes a day which was also incorrect so this is why I am presuming it is a calcium deficiency.

They now have a uva light over the tank with 5.0 uvb. I have tried them with mackerel, worms, lettuce, mussels and the mix of turtle food you can get from the pet shop but one of them just won't eat much at all. I was away all day yesterday and when I came back I found that is shell had gotten worse and worse again this morning when I got up. Under his arms and around his neck under his shell seems quiet pale. Is this normal? He is not lethargic in anyway and seems healthy around the mouth although he does try to bite when I pick him up.

Has anyone got any advice? I would be very grateful.

[Fuzzy]

how is the water quality in their tank?

Has the water been properly treated (both chlorine and chloramine), does it smell bad or have high ammonia levels? Terrapins and turtles can really mess up their water in a hurry, and some individuals find it harder to adapt to lowered water quality.

You might want to quarantine the terrapin that is having shell problems for now, so you can more easily monitor how much it's eating.

Generally it's recommended to take your terrapin to a vet as soon as possible if it develops shell problems.

http://www.freewebs.com/terrapinresc...pinillness.htm