Sometimes turtles are found with an overly mossy/algae covered shell. Turtles in this condition are called “floaters.” This is because when turtles are struggling to regulate buoyancy and properly dive, algae will begin to grow on their carapace indicating something is wrong. Floating for a long period of time could be due to a sickness, injury or many other reasons. Radiographs, monitoring diet, and diving tests are crucial when examining this type of admission. After cleaning off the algae and

658K views · 10K reactions | Depending on the nutrient content of the water in which various turtles live, including sea turtles, they’re known to grow algae on their shells! This is particularly common in musk turtles in springs that have high nitrates, due to the excess nutrient content and lack of basking from the species. To see it on sea turtles is less common, but still very interesting! | DanTheTurtleMan | Facebook