My Daughters Turtle

Question
My daughter received a turtle from a friend of mine at work.  They found it
swimming in the clarifiers at the waste water treatment facility.  We have had
it about a year and a half.  It is an eastern box turtle and we also have kept it
in a small aquarium.  Recently when we cleaned the tank I noticed that the
shell on its back was covered in a white substance and that the shell was
softer than normal.  What is going on, we are concerned about this and would
like to know how to help the turtle if it is becoming sickly.  Thanks.

Answer
Hi Tyler,

Your turtle needs to see a vet soon.  I'm not a vet, so I can't help you unfortunately.  

I can tell you that the aquarium isn't the right environment, or he wouldn't have developed shell problems.  Here is a link to box turtle care:

http://exoticpets.about.com/od/boxturtles/p/eaternboxt.htm

You'll probably need to build the turtle a large indoor enclosure to keep him happy, because turtles in the wild (especially Easterns) like to do a lot of walking and climbing.  Plus, the turtle is used to being in the wild so it will be more difficult to prevent health problems (stress of captivity contributes to their health problems).

I'd recommend taking him to the vet, then reading as much as you can online about the care of box turtles.  They are an exotic pet and require special care.

Or, I'd recommend talking to a turtle rescue to see if he can be rehabilitated back into the wild.  

I'm glad to hear the turtle was saved from the treatment facility.  It probaby would have drowned had they not saved it!

Hope this helps, feel free to write to me if you have any more questions.

-Amanda