Within a year, these white spots usually developed into full blown tumors. The disease frequently affects the eyes first, but we have seen tumored turtles with clean, healthy eyes, so this is by no means a rule. The course of the tumors can vary greatly among individuals. We have seen turtles develop a mild case that changes little from year to year. Most of the turtles we have observed with the disease steadily worsen.
Tumors increase in both number and size.
Particularly gruesome are tumors that develop along the neck of turtles. For whatever reason, the disease runs rampant in the juvenile turtles we observe. In adults, the disease is less predictable. The sad truth of the matter is that scientists aren't yet certain what causes fibropapilloma tumors or how they are spread. There is a lot of research being conducted to answer these questions, and while progress is being made, so far there are no definitive answers.