Urgent Care :: Dry Docking- Minor Shell Rot

[Touche the Turtle]

Touche's been shedding pretty heavily over the last month- and as a result of a broken filter she seems to have some minor white spots of shell rot when the old scrute lifts off. Like the dirty water was festering under the 1/2 lifted scrute.

Her filter is now back up and running- it's a 160 gal filter set up with my 65 gal tank. And I've been treating her with Nolvasan per the instructions on this site: http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/shellrot.html

The only thing is when I put her in the dry tank with just a towel and a UV lamp she freaks out. Like for the whole 2 hours she's supposed to be drying off in there. She won't stop trying to scale the glass wall... and as a result after a few days of repeating this treatment she's developed what looks like a pink rash on the bottom of her jaw. I looks like she's literally rubbed it raw on the glass tank.

I decided to give her a couple of days off to heal- and most of the white pits have lifted anyways. But my question is- how do you guys dry dock your turtles when necessary? Would a rubbermaid tub work better or prevent her from rubbing her face raw?

[annar]

I haven't had a lot of experience with it, but I have to put cream on the back of my turtle's neck and dry dock him while it settles. I use a little plastic bin that's completely lined with a couple of layers of paper towels. They're the blue shop towels that are extra soft. It provides a cushion and he can't get his claws caught like he did in a towel (he's still under 2 inches). There's also enough lining that he doesn't come in contact with the plastic. I also leave one end of paper towel curled up, so he can hide his head under there like a little cave. I make sure the whole thing is in a quiet area. He usually stays pretty calm with this set up. Good luck with Touche!

[Touche the Turtle]

Yeah, a plastic tub sounds like it'd be less harmful. My turtle's like 6.5" so I usually use my glass 35 gal aquarium as a hospital tank. But there's really no way for me to secure towels to the side... I should look into those shammy shop towels. Maybe those would stay put.

[annar]

You could use a big plastic tub (one that he can't see through- that should minimize stress) and use binder clips to attach the towels to the top of the tub. I'm pretty sure the big office binder clips would work. Just be careful he doesn't use the towel to help him climb up and out of the tub. Mine pulled that on me once. Once I made the little cave for him to hide if he wanted, he seemed less interested in escape, though.

[steve]

Have you posted pics of the shell rot?

Dry docking is easiest for turtle and turtle owner when you do it overnight. They'll go to sleep in a few minutes when it's dark. If you have to do it during the day, then giving them as much room as possible. They're naturally curious and like to roam around.

[Touche the Turtle]

OK- those are awesome tips, thanks you guys! I'm still giving her a rest, like I said most of the little white pits lifted, so maybe I'll wait a while till she's less stressed.

[Touche the Turtle]

I know she should be dry for these pictures, but I haven't been able to bring myself to dry dock her, since that raw chin hasn't healed fully yet.
Here's the worst spot:


Some of her scrutes were a bit pointy, but I'm doing my best to make sure she's getting enough veggies to hopefully fix it.

Patchwork of shedding shell:

[steve]

I can't really see anything wrong in those pics. In the top pic, can you describe it? Overall she looks good after her shed.

[Touche the Turtle]

It's a collection of small white dimples in the shell, but it's a larger grouping than the other scattered pits on her shell.

[steve]

Does it have a rough texture? Is the white within a pit?

[Touche the Turtle]

Does it have a rough texture? Is the white within a pit?

Yeah, that description pretty much nails it.

[steve]

Then it sounds like a little exposed bone layer. It should come off on its own exposing a little flesh. There might be a light presence of blood. It would then harden up and should be fine afterwards. If the white areas become larger, then there might be an ongoing infection and a vet visit would be good.

[Touche the Turtle]

Ugh- that sounds scary. Should I continue dry docking her, or do you think it'll heal up on it's own for the most part.

[steve]

As long as it doesn't get bigger. It generally heals pretty quickly. If you dry dock once the flesh is exposed, it should heal a little faster.