Golden spots on shell

Question
QUESTION: I have 2 red ear sliders & 2 painted turtles. I have a heater and filter. About 2 weeks ago i notices my turtles shells getting golden spots on their shells and I'm a little concerned. I have had the since late spring. Any help would be appreciated.

ANSWER: Hi Sonny,

If you can take some very clear pictures and post links to them, it would help.  Spots could be due to fungus, a bacterial infection, or possibly shell rot.  If you could also give more information on the size/age of the turtles and how you're keeping them--size of tank, water/basking temperatures, type of basking and UVB bulb(s), and diet--I can give better advice.  With that number of turtles, water quality is always a concern.  RES are messy turtles and dirty the water quickly.  Even if your turtles are fairly small you should have a large tank with a very good filter to avoid water quality issues.  If you can post back with more information I'll do my best to help.

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Turtle spots on shell   QUESTION: Tank is like 50 gallons. I have a Tetra filter & heater. I used a heat light for awhile. Its not affecting the red eared sliders much. Shell looks bubbled up in areas. They are eating normal. I feed them once every other day. I just bought another bulb "UVB" hopefully thinking that it would better complete the color spectrum and fix the shell problem. I also got some water conditioner and shell conditioner that i can rub once a week on the shell. Any feedback? Turtles are like 2 1/2 3 inches long so their small

Answer
Hi Sonny,

The picture isn't big enough for me to tell anything, but with four turtles in a 50 gallon tank, I think your problem is probably water quality.  The turtles are still fairly small, but they grow rapidly and RES are well-known for fouling the water.  I would consider upgrading to a larger tank sooner rather than later (one adult RES needs minimum 50 gallons) and using a really good, heavy duty canister filter like a Magnum or Fluval.  You're going to need a filter upgrade sooner enough anyway.  You can also feed outside of the tank to keep it cleaner longer, and make sure you are doing weekly partial water changes.

Your turtles also need a good basking/UVB light that maintains a basking temp of around 90.  Water temp can be 75-78 degrees.  You need a 10-15 degree difference between water and basking temperature to encourage basking.  Color spectrum is not so important, but good UVB is.  Turtles cannot metabolize calcium without a source of UVB.  My recommendation is to get an all-in-one heat/UVB bulb like the T-Rex Active UVheat.

Make sure you're feeding a varied diet that includes both animal protein (boiled chicken/shrimp/egg, worms, fish, crickets, etc.) and greens (turnip, dandelion, collards, spring mix, kale, endive, anacharis).  Juveniles are more carnivorous than adults, but should still be eating some plant matter.  Put a cuttlebone in the tank so they can nibble on it for added calcium.  

Toss the shell conditioner.  It's a useless product and won't help, but it will clog up the shells.  If the spots are a shell fungus, you can try treating it with salt soaks--once a day in a solution of 2 tablespoons salt (aquarium salt) per gallon of water.  If there's no improvement after about five days, there are also commercial dips you can use, but you might want to consider consulting a vet about treatment.      

Here's some links to sites that may be helpful for you:

www.redearslider.com (has good information on filters)
http://turtlerescues.com/res.htm (general care info)  
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com (all kinds of good care information)
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm (information on shell conditions and treatments)