Urgent Care :: Something wrong with back feet.

[Annie118]

I have two RES age 2.5 years. Yesterday I took the turtles out of the pool (they have a little doggie pool in the yard) and one turtle had a circle of lighter skin on each of her back feet. I didn't remember if it was that way before but the other turtle doesn't have it. Now that she is in the h2o in the tank they look like white circles, (maybe blisters) and sometimes she tucks them in and swims mostly with her front feet. Circles are maybe bout 0.5 inch. What the heck happened to her? I hope she doesn't have to go to the vet cuz I am totally broke after i went to a reptile show and bought a gecko cuz I had to get alot of apparatus for the gecko, bless her little heart. I did make an appointment for the vet for Saturday.

Someone said take her out of the h2o. Should I? How long? Should I get medicine for it? Right now she is in a giant tupperware. I think there may be another spot on her armpit. They are not fluffy spots.

Her tank is crystal clear so she shouldn't have caught something in there. There is a canister filter, uva and uvb, and a place to bask. I put them outside some days to get real sun and I feed them out there. There is no filter in the pool but the water is new whenever i put them in it and it's only a couple inches deep. There is a heater in the tank so the water is warm but the pool is cool.

Is there anything I should be doing? Is there a way I can avoid the vet visit? I heard sulfa is not good because is makes them resistant to it but she had sulfa dip when she was a baby and the other turtle accidentally poked her eye and she got better.

[steve]

I can't ID the injury to the back feet -- could be some type of infection. The shell definitely has a fungus problem... looks like there is fast growth (retained scutes and slight pyramiding).

[Annie118]

You mean fungus on the top of the shell or the bottom? I posted pics about that before on another board and I was told it was mineral deposits from hard water and it wont hurt them but if I want it off I can do it with a tooth brush but I didn't want to bother the turtles if it was harmless.

Should I do the sulfa dip or wait til I see the vet?

[Annie118]

When I found out about pyramiding I changed their diet. They were eating all the time cuz we liked when they got so excited and were so cute. Then I learned about too much protein so now they have been eating every other day... one day pellets then the next time they eat I give them a couple of pellets and a couple of crickets or worms. Now I give them the pellets no more than the size of their head and they eat it real fast. Before they would eat a pound of food if I gave it to them. Sometimes I throw a leaf of romaine in the pool for a treat. Is that feeding schedule ok? or is it too much?

[marisa]

Is it possible that the turtle is being bitten by the other? The white areas and the fact that she's swimming with her feed tucked in would make me tend to thing that she is. Is there anything on the neck or tail? Even if they got along before, there may be a problem now...For starters, I'd wash the areas with chlorohexidine (you can get Hibiclens at pharmacies, dilute it 50/50 with water), rinse them and let them dry. You could dab a little Neosporin on the with a q-tip; if you do this in the evening, keep the turtle out of the water overnight. Watch for any signs of bullying/aggression. If you do see any, you may have to separate them.

The head-size amount (not including the neck) is OK; at their size you can feed them the pellets every other day. Some type of healthy veggie daily is good; the romaine in the pool is fine. If it's a big leaf, I'd cut it in half so each has something. If the leaves are small, I'd put in two.

[Annie118]

Thanks. I have never seen them argue. (you know what i mean) I just thought it was strange that the spots were the same size and same spot on their feet. Almost looks like they were rubbed that way. I was wondering... this is war fetched, if it was because of the new pool. Maybe walking on the bottom bothered her feet or something. it reminds me of when you get new shoes and you get matching blisters on each foot. I will see what the vet says on Saturday. Do you think waiting til Saturday is too long?

And if I feel pellets every other day... should I leave out the bugs?

I have never seen them be mean to each other except if they get real excited when they know food is coming and they splash at the top. One may accidentally smack the other in the face. they Sleep next to each other or on tip of each other so I don't think one bit the other. It really looks more like a blister/rub type of thing.

What part of the shell are you saying is fungus?

[steve]

It's fungus on the top and bottom, pretty much where there is white. I don't think the sulfa dip will do much since it has spread, but it couldn't hurt either.

[Annie118]

Well... The vet said she has a bacterial infection on her feet. I think that they were rubbed on the bottom of the new pool and got irritated. Then maybe got infected. Last pool was a kiddie pool. This one is a dog pool and its got a different bottom. She got medicine for that. Little pads I have to put on there. He said they don't have fungus but the shells are rough and whitish like that because the water may be too acid. I didn't think it was fungus in the shell but you cant tell from the photos. He gave me instructions about what to do when I test the water. Thanks for your help.

[steve]

Good luck with the treatment. I disagree about the fungus on the shell from personal experiences and those on this forum. However, if there is a treatment that is found to work, please share that info.