Shine Bright Like a Turtle

With the easing of the pandemic, I am doing in-person talks again. This means I’ll be taking my turtle and tortoises out to be admired in public. Recently, as I was preparing for one such talk, I received an email from a local veterinary clinic that said, “it’s time for your pet to shine.” Hmmm. Is this a sign that it’s time to spiff up my family-members to prepare for their public appearance? Well, maybe.

To Shine or Not to Shine

When I read the email content, I realized it was about how keeping your dog healthy would result in a shiny coat. It was not about how to make my chelonians’ shell shine. (Chelonian, as in turtles and tortoises.) My chelonian family members don’t have shiny shells. However, I like their “lived-in” look. Zoe, a Sonoran Desert Tortoise, has a scuffed top shell, her carapace (the plastron is underneath).

Zoe is a bit scraped from digging into the hard Sonoran Desert dirt. She lives outside during warm (hot) weather. Sometimes, she digs her own dens in the hard substrate; sometimes, she lets Cantata Sulcata Tortoise do the hard work.

The top of a tortoise shell with visible scratches and scruffs.

Trevor the Box Turtle, roams the dry world of my house. If immersed in water, he’d be shinier and his color richer. Perhaps he needs to be buffed with a polish? As a box turtle, he mostly roams land, but can swim if he needs to. I had a native Sonoran Desert Box Turtle (a close relative of Trevor), who could have gone her entire life without being in water. But she could swim in my pool remarkably well. I finally blocked all the spots in the fence she was getting through to reach the pool from the yard, to keep her safe.

The top of a turtle shell, there are no scratches but the color is dull.

Curiosity Shined the Turtle

I prefer the natural beauty of their shells (as I mention in my book Don’t Call Me Turtle). But, just out of curiosity, I googled how to make a turtle or tortoise shell shine. What came up amused me.

Turtle wax, car waxing products.

If you don’t wash cars, you might not be familiar with these products. They are NOT for waxing turtles! However, they are great for making my car shine. I kept investigating. Eventually, I did find polish for shelled reptiles.

JBL Tortoise Shine is for shell care and pest control (against reptile mites). I’m not familiar with this product. And, I haven’t had issues with mites on tortoises. 

A marketing image of JBL and a tortoise.

Then I found Nature Zone turtle shell saver, which is advertised as a moisturizer and conditioner for chelonian shells.

A bottle of Turtle Shell Saver.

 I’m not familiar with this product either. However, thinking about what tortoise and turtle shells are made of, I really shouldn’t be surprised about a turtle moisturizer. Shells are made of keratin, the same protein that our skin, hair and fingernails are made of. I certainly use conditioner on my hair and I apply moisturizing creams to my skin several times a day. In fact, in the US, billions of dollars are spent on human skin and hair care. Why shouldn’t turtles and tortoises benefit like we do? 

 And I should note that I started this inquiry because I thought the vet might have something that would make my turtle and tortoise shells shinier. We keratin-based creatures living in the Sonoran Desert need all the moisturizing we can get!

To learn more about Turtles and Tortoises of the Sonoran Desert check out my numerous educational workbooks all about them. 

CURTIS CURLY-TAIL COMES ALIVE ON YOU TUBE!a curly tail lizard on a bahamian beach with blue sky and ocean, sand and green plants
Elaine A Powers Author Conservationalist Biologist
Click Image to Hear “Don’t Call Me Turtle!”image of woman reading book at tucson botanical gardens
Don’t Miss a Thing at Lyric Power Publishing!

To learn about our latest science-based children’s books and workbooks, to read our latest blog posts about reptiles, birds, cats, and gardening, in a variety of locations, and about how the books come to be, what inspires an author to write, and many more interesting aspects of the publishing business, fill in the box below and we will add you to our email list.
Thank you!


BLOG CATEGORIES