Urgent Care :: Adopted turtle with possible fungus

[MableAndLynn]

I have noticed a few posts in this forum regarding similar issues, but not quite exact. I was hoping that by coming here I could learn by others experiences.

We have had a Red Eared Slider for a few years now. We're absolutely in love with her. We made the decision this week that it may be beneficial to our adult turtle to have a friend. This afternoon, we went out and purchased a baby RES. Ideally, we would have liked to rescue an adult RES, but to be honest, we were unsure of how our current turtle would react, and we thought it may be an easier adjustment with a younger, less dominant turtle. If that makes sense!

Anyway, upon taking the turtle home, we noticed that there was what seems to be fungus on the back of her neck. It was almost as if the skin on her neck was rubbing on her shell, but I know that's not the case. I'm no expert, but I know fungus is fairly common in RES, and I believe that's what she has.

We have never had to deal with this type of issue with our adult RES. Call it luck, or the fact that we try extremely hard to provide her with the best possible in terms of living conditions, nutrition, etc. I was reading online and there were many suggestions as to how to treat this, including store bought products.. My question to you is: Have you ever had to deal with such an issue and how did you treat it? Returning her is not an option for us, as we're already in love with her, and regardless of fungus, she still needs a home.
She will be in a separate aquarium while she is being treated for this fungus.
Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[megcornell]

Hello and welcome!
It does look like that top scute is rubbing and aggravating the skin around the neck. I would start treating it with an antibiotic ointment.
As for your new RES, unfortunately, it is very dangerous to add a tiny RES in with a larger one. Regardless of the size, there's always a good chance that RES will fight, they are pretty aggressive by nature. And whether it means to or not a larger RES can do considerable damage and even kill a young one. Just recently on here someone had a hatchling with an adult and the adult decided to bite the hatchling and it lost use of its leg for quite some time.
Therefore, it'd be advisable to keep the two turtles separate.
In nature, RES are very solitary creatures, they don't see other turtles as companions but as competition, so they're not lonely in their tanks, in fact they like to be the only turtle.

[MableAndLynn]

Hello and welcome!
It does look like that top scute is rubbing and aggravating the skin around the neck. I would start treating it with an antibiotic ointment.
As for your new RES, unfortunately, it is very dangerous to add a tiny RES in with a larger one. Regardless of the size, there's always a good chance that RES will fight, they are pretty aggressive by nature. And whether it means to or not a larger RES can do considerable damage and even kill a young one. Just recently on here someone had a hatchling with an adult and the adult decided to bite the hatchling and it lost use of its leg for quite some time.
Therefore, it'd be advisable to keep the two turtles separate.
In nature, RES are very solitary creatures, they don't see other turtles as companions but as competition, so they're not lonely in their tanks, in fact they like to be the only turtle.

I really appreciate your response. I have a lot to learn about RES, I guess! The ultimate deal breaker for us, as far as purchasing another turtle, was the fact that a "specialist" explained to us that there are rarely problems mixing turtles, and so on. Originally, I was concerned with whether or not this would be a positive or a negative thing. I did not want a young turtle to be hurt, or for my adult turtle to become stressed. Now, I can look back on the conversation and gather that he was possibly trying to convince us so we would make a purchase.

Thank you, again.

[mikee]

Mab-A-Lynn -- Putting a smaller tutle in with a larger one that has been alone for a while is asking for trouble. If the larger doesn't get aggressive with the little one I would be surprised. It may take some time but eventually the big one will get fed up and bite the little one. --

[megcornell]

Sorry to have been the bearer of bad news, but I'm glad you found out before injuries happened.
I do believe that some aquatic turtles like painteds are less aggressive, but RES certainly have a history of having bad experiences with tank mates. If you do a search through the forum posts you'll see time and time again that turtles need to be separated due to aggression.

[MableAndLynn]

I would much rather find out and have to change plans than to have one of them injured or even worse killed. So, Thanks.. I am still learning!
I sent my husband out to purchase another aquarium. Now, they will be separated.

[SpotsMama]

The "specialist" really should be ashamed - not only are there sometimes problems mixing turtles in the same tank - but it's almost always the case that they fight and have to be separated. It's really good of you to bite the bullit and keep them separated before there's a big problem.

That very pointed scute (shell section) that appears to be rubbing on the little turtle's neck will eventually shed and then the edge of the shell will be smooth and you won't have that problem any more.

[MableAndLynn]

The "specialist" really should be ashamed - not only are there sometimes problems mixing turtles in the same tank - but it's almost always the case that they fight and have to be separated. It's really good of you to bite the bullit and keep them separated before there's a big problem.

That very pointed scute (shell section) that appears to be rubbing on the little turtle's neck will eventually shed and then the edge of the shell will be smooth and you won't have that problem any more.

I totally agree. I was very upset with this person, as the whole decision of purchasing another turtle was based on whether or not it would negatively effect our adult turtle. We would never want to put either in danger. So, they are now separated. I am so glad to hear that her neck issue will clear up eventually. Is this something that typically occurs? I would really like to learn more about this issue and hear of others experiences. Also, how long does it typically take for that specific scute to shed? I actually went back to the place I purchased her from and questioned it. They told me that the reason a few had that was due to the fact that they attack eachother when feeding, which I found kind of odd since it is in the exact same place on a few. Thank you for any answers that you can offer me. I really appreciate it.

[SpotsMama]

When my turtle was young, he had a pointed scute like that that rubbed a little sore on dthe back of his head. I've seen it on others too. My turtle wasn't living in the best of conditions (I was very ignorant at the time) and he didn't shed scutes like he should and it was a couple of years before he finally lost that pointed scute. It shouldn't have taken so long and wouldn't have if his conditions had been better. His head wasn't sore the whole time, mostly just at the beginning.

Actually, I'm having a hard time telling what I'm looking at in the photo. Do you have another photo you could post that's somewhat further out so I can get the "big" picture? I can see the pointed scute and see where there's a sore, so it's pretty sure that's what the problem is, but it wouldn't hurt to get a better look.

[marisa]

The photo is a little disorienting to me...Is that a sore I'm looking at, or is the the shell? Is the neck downward in the pic, or is the neck the stripped area at the top? It would be good if you could post a better pic.

[megcornell]

I interpreted it to be the edge of the shell in the bottom right, and the neck pointing up and to the left. You can see the "ear" in the top left corner.

[SpotsMama]

Ok meg, I see it now. It still would be good to see a picture from a little further out.

[marisa]

Does that scute look like it's starting to shed at all?