Question: My turtle has white spots on his skin. Is this a fungus?
Answer: Maybe. Or it could be another type of skin infection.
If all you see are a few well-defined white spots, you can first try the "drying out" approach
- Keep your turtle out of the water overnight in a warm (85F) box for at least a week.
- If this helps, continue until improvement shows.
- Then make sure he basks a lot.
- Make sure he is exposed to natural sunlight for 1/2 hour a day.
- Add 1 teaspoon of salt per gallon of water. Iodine free cooking salt is fine.
- In addition, review your husbandry practices, in particular the water quality and the basking spot available to the turtle.
If drying out does not help
- If there is no improvement, see a veterinarian.
- Do not use antibiotic cremes, anti-fungal cremes, washes, etc. without consulting with a veterinarian. Using the wrong medication can make it worse. For a simple fungal skin infection, drying out is all that's necessary. Anything that does not respond to the "warm and dry" approach needs to be evaluated by a veterinarian.
- If this is a box turtle, check the humidity of the enclosure. Keep him dryer. Change the substrate completely.
- If there are many spots, or the whole body is covered, or the eyes are also whitish, your turtle needs to see a veterinarian.
- If your turtle shows additional symptoms, like sluggishness or lack of appetite, you turtle needs to see a veterinarian.
- If there are lesions, cracks, or bloody sores and scabs, take your turtle to a veterinarian immediately. There is a good chance the condition will require treatment with medication internally (for example antibiotics) in addition to drying out, cleaning, and prescription creams.
Recommended basking equipment