Urgent Care :: What are these spots!?? i am so worried about my Xander!

[simba_pilin]

My RES is about 6 inches long and i have had him for about 3 years.
He has had these spots on his shell for months. i keep him with my 3 inch RES, which i belive is a female, and i have not noticed any spots like these on her. They are both acting normaly. when i let them outside, the go here, then there, and bask in the sunlight. in their tank, they beg for food. i give them mosly Pellet food, and have started giving them carrots and Romaine Leaf Lettuce and occosionally crickets, and as a treat sometimes rosy minnows. they do all the things they are supposed to do, and nothing unusual. What are these spots. i admit, that for the first two years, i have had him i did not take good care of my turtle at all, meaning i didnt properly keep their habitat clean. I would change the water once a week, and there was no filter, now i am taking better care of them, much better... I need to find out what this ! please Help! Also he has these spots on his shell on his carapace and plastron.

[ScrewZoo]

Thats just his shell design, Im pretty sure.

[simba_pilin]

really??
but do you see the spots, well i call them spots, because i dont know what to call them, they are more like... well its not a hole... but its not like a color spot, its like... its
---u---
like the - is the shell normal, and the "u" is what im talking about. it goes in not a bump.... like a dip! yes like a dip in the road!

[ScrewZoo]

I don't see it, I thought u meant the brown spots, lol.. Um maybe some little gashes? maybe got scraped on stuff but he looks okay now though if it was, let a shell expert show up though.

[simba_pilin]

thank you for your opinion and replies,

[ScrewZoo]

I see now.. Took a couple more looks just because you havent gotten any replies.. they like dents from him hitting something sharp in the tank or something answer the questions in the sticky topic in urgent care so we can help you further do u have anything sharp that could do that in the tank? did he have them when u got him?

[SpotsMama]

The white areas of the shell concern me. Here's a photo of a turtle with a shell infection that reminds me of your turtle:



Are the whitish areas soft or cheesy at all? Is there an unpleasant smell?

By the way, your turts toenails look pretty short in the photo for a male's. Is it just the photo, or are his front toenails really pretty short?

[marisa]

Don't know what you're showning in the pic of the carapace (and the glare in one pic hides whatever it is you're trying to show), but it looks like some of the scutes on the plastron are preparing to shed. When has your turtle shed last? If you press on some of those white areas, do they appear to move at all?

[untsmurf]

I believe they are referring to the divots in the plastron. It looks like there were tiny dents gouged out of the shell. I don't know what would cause a plastron to be porous like that though.

[grey goose]

It looks like dings and dents to me.....What kind of substrate are you using? That kind of minor damage can be caused from your turt jumping off the basking ramp and hitting the bottom. If you have sharp gravel in the way, he may be hitting it.
The wide seam running down the middle may be attributed to fast growth, maybe from overfeeding. My Gomie had the same thing, I was over feeding her for awhile, but once I adjusted her diet, it cleared up with no shedding.
Here's a pic:

[untsmurf]

Wow that's crazy! Do you have an after pic?

[grey goose]

Not right now, but I do have to pull them out of the tank and measure them both.....I'll post some pics next week.

[JimmyJam]

Mmm, I think I am going to have to agree with untsmurf on this one. The plastron indeed looks porous, and it is porous looking all over not just on certain spots where it would receive wear and tear from being too adventurous.

My guess is that it may have a calcium deficiency of some kind, just my guess though.

How long have you had your RES? Has it always had those little indentations on his plastron? Exactly what does your setup consist of?