My turtle has a soft shell, Why? And what can I do to fix this?
If your turtle has developed a soft shell it is probably caused by one of two things.
It could be Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) which is caused by a lack of calcium in their diet. If the condition is not too advanced it can be corrected by increasing the Calcium and Vitamin D in the turtles diet. Calcium supplements are an effective way to increase calcium in your turtles diet as well as nutrient rich natural foods and balanced turtle diets/pellets. Find out how to give calcium to your aquatic turtle in our article here.
The other cause of a soft shell is shell rot which is usually caused by an infection, most commonly a bacterial infection. The infection then damages and weakens the shell. A vet would be able to advise you a treatment plan to hopefully correct the problem.
To determine the cause of the soft shell you should a reptile veterinarian. They will be able to best advise the correct treatment approach.