Urgent Care :: Shell Rot???

[pearlie369]

I got Murtle here about 4 months ago after I cared for a roomates RES for 2 years (deployment). I took special care to find out as much as I could and to make her home as good as I can. To start off I must say, she isn't as friendly as Duke was so it was hard to get any good pics of her. She was biting herself trying to get to me and I don't want her to be stressed or hurt herself so please forgive her pictures. Well I was looking at her today and she got in a postion where I could see her belly (for change, she normally begs for 'treats' when I go to her tank) and I saw some weird markings. I got her out and saw these spots on her belly, they look almost pitted into her shell. Like I said she's not too friendly so getting to her belly is a stressful thing so I try not to take too long looking. When I got her she had alot of alge and pitts on top of her shell and had nowhere really to bask, she now has a pleco friend that keeps the alge off and 3 fishey friends she decided not to eat and the zoomed basking dock in the sun. Her water is 79 degrees, and her basking area is 92 degrees. Her shell is not soft or slimy. I don't know if this is shell rot or not, can anyone please help me? I searched for pics but couldnt find any good ones where I could actually see it. The spots are a little lighter in color, but not white or yellow as far as I can tell. Could the fish have gave her something? They have been in there for about 2 months. I clean her tank very regularly (about every week a water change and a good cleaning and scrubing every month) I maybe over reacting but I am a worried mama.

[tink]

sorry about ur turtle i wish i can help

[steve]

Is there a change of color within those pits? An indoor kept RES should have no or very little algae on it's shell. What do you mean by "zoomed basking dock in the sun"? To me, it looks like abrasive marks from tank decorations or a rough basking area.

As long as she is able to dry off and get some UVB, I'd think she is fine. Just keep an eye on this.

[marisa]

Welcome. Pitting can be the result of inadquate diet, bacteria/infection, among other things. The shell isn't flaking at all in those areas? It doesn't really look like shell rot to me. Shell rot can appear in different forms, there are some of them shown here if you haven't see it: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

Your turtle basks on a Zoo-Med basking dock in the sun? What do you mean by "in the sun"---outdoors or in front of a window with sunlight coming in? If it's the latter, the UVB rays your turtle needs are being filtered out by the glass and your turtle needs a UVB light in addition to a heat light. You're turtle isn't a hatchling, and I'd lower the water temp about 3 degrees and the basking area temp a few degrees as well.

[pearlie369]

There's no real color change to her, just little pit spots in her shell. She also has no flaking or smell. I have 2 fake rock decorations in there, Im going to replace them and see if that stops it, Im also just going to go ahead and make her a out of tank area to bask this weekend. Her tank is in front of the most sunny window in the house and she does have the UVB/heat bulb aimed at her basking spot. I saw the pics on Austins page, but those were so advanced I wasn't sure if this could have been the start of rot. I turned her heat down and moved her bulb so that should help with the temp. I give her pellet food two times a week, veggies three times a week, and some protein foods two times a week. Thank you for your help to clam my nerves! Also any ideas on helping her 'come out of her shell', so to speak, so maybe one day I wont be worried of being attacked when she gets her bath?

[marisa]

What UVB/heat bulb are you using? The only UVB/UVA bulbs that give off heat are combination mercury vapor lights, Zoo-Med's Powersun and T-Rex's Active UVHeat bulbs are two of the more well-known ones. Is this the type of bulb you have? If not, a regular heat/basking bulb will not give off UVB rays (but it will give off UVA rays). Regular UVB lights are flourescent and don't give off heat, so if you don't have a mercury vapor light, your turtle still needs a UVB light (you can just use a regular lightbulb for the basking light). The glass in that sunny window will block the UVB rays and is of no help to your turtle.

You can give some vegetable/plant matter daily, btw. Pellets have a fair amount of protein in them (more or less depending on the brand.)

Time is usually the cure for getting a turtle to become more friendly. That and having them realize you're the source of the food. Some turtles, however, are just not as friendly as others...

What do you mean by "scrubbing" when you say you clean your turtle?

[pearlie369]

I have the 100w T Rex UVHeat spotlight.
I don't scrub her (then I'd know why she hates me), I scrub her tank with a sponge and diluted vinager once a month. I wipe her off with a old bath towel when she will let me.