Urgent Care :: Need advice- shell condition- Please help!

[MissMandy]

Hello, my two RES hatchlings have white spots on their shells. It started just as a spot, but seems to be spreading all over. I'm not sure if its a fungus or mineral deposits from water?

My question is where do you get the medication to help shells? Their setup is good. Their diet is good, but could this be a calcium deficiency? Thanks!!

How big is your turtle? about 1 in
How long have you had it? 2 months

What is the water temperature? 78-80
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 5-10 gal.
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 90
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? basking ramp
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? repto- min and krill
When was the last time your turtle ate? today

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gal.
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? no


Franklin is on left and Phoebe on right. I noticed the one on the right has a very unusual shell pattern?






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[grem89]

Pictures are really needed though if we can help you out. Take a picture of you turtle from a little farther away. We'll see what we can come up with. Hope all goes well!

[krysten]

bump.

one of my turtles has the same problem. there not white as much as they are shiny/clear looking...is this something i should worry about? and if so what can be done about it.

pics to follow.

[SpotsMama]

Pics! We need pics! Hard to tell much about a shell condition without clear pics.

[MissMandy]

Hey, thanks for replying! My sister took some pics on her camera, im just waiting for her to send them.

[steve]

"Spreading" makes me think of fungus every time. It's contagious to other RES too. I would search the forum for pictures and treatment options.

[MissMandy]

Is there something wrong with them?

[mackadocious]

where in conn. do you live??...there are several herp vets--i've been to one in the new britain/kensington area right off route 9.....the visit was 50 bucks total including the cost of the antibacterial/fungal cream i got for treatment of a wound...he was really nice too and i had no prob gettting an appointment..

[MissMandy]

Thanks Mackadocious. I'm right in the area. I don't know if there is something I should do until I can take them there? I don't have the money yet. Did you bring your cat there too?

[SpotsMama]

Looks like fungus to me.

In your description, it sounds like the setup is good, but something must be causing the condition. One thing that causes it is that the shells don't dry out completely at frequent intervals. It's essential that they dry out completely - top and bottom - preferably every day or at least every couple of days. They need to bask for several hours a day. Are they doing this?

Another thing that contributes to this condition is water that isn't clean. Do you test the water for ammonia and nitrites? These chemicals are invisible by products of turtle waste and uneaten food. They are not exactly poisonous to turtles but they do make the water unhealthy.

Another thing to look for is very high ph (alkaline) water. Try testing for ph and see what you get.

If you can find a herp vet to treat them, that would be best. A herp vet could give you a definitive diagnosis. Alternatively, treatment for shell fungus has been described several times on here. Have you tried a search - probably in General Conditions section - for shell plus white plus fungus?

[MissMandy]

Thanks SpotsMama. They do bask a lot, but I haven't tested the water here. I'm going to do that asap. I've done a search and looked through the other posts. Some say the sulfa dip works and others say not to use. Not sure if it's a waste of mone? I guess I will just go to the Vet as soon as I can. Thanks!

[mackadocious]

never took the cats or the dog there as i already had a good vet for them--one that was conservative w/ treatment and didn't make you feel guilty for not running every test in the world for a scratch, something that's hard to find w/ cats/dogs these days--tho would have considered taking the cats or dog there fo sure....

[SpotsMama]

When my Spot had shell fungus I tried sulfa dip and it didn't seem to do anything for him. I've heard the same from some others on this forum. What worked for him was (1) completely cleaned up the habitat - water quality, UVB light, diet, basking then (2) soaks in Novalsan followed by application of silver sulfadiazine cream followed by lots of dry docking.

Spot's shell was very slow to heal. It made the most progress when he was able to bask outside in the sun during the summer when we built his outdoor pond. Natural sunshine is very good for a turtle's shell. Once he had shed most of the thick layers of retained scutes, the Nolvasan and especially the silver sulfadiazine worked wonders.

I also lowered his water's ph since it tends to be very high - measurements approaching 9 in the summer. An alkaline environment is favorable to fungus.

Let us know what your vet says.

[MissMandy]

Bad news, I called the vet today to make an appt. and they said they can't see turtles under 4". I'm going to order the silver sulfadiazine online and test their water. Hopefully, I can find another Vet in the area that will treat them. Thanks so much for your help!

[SpotsMama]

Good luck. Keep us posted. Usually these shell conditions are quite curable but they are slow and you have to keep up the habitat, lighting, basking and diet very consistently.