Urgent Care :: Something wrong with bottom shell

[josephkr]

A while ago I noticed the bottom of my turtle's shell had spots that looked flaky. Today when I was cleaning his cage I was examining it and poked it with my fingernail to see if it was soft, and he kicked his legs and opened his mouth ready to bite. What is this? What made it? How do I get rid of it?

How big is your turtle? 6-7 Inches
How long have you had it? 2 years

What is the water temperature? 78-80
Did you use a thermometer? No
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? Half of a 50 gallon tank, so 25.
Are you using a water conditioner? Some
Are you using any filtration? Yes. 2 30 gallon capacity filters

What is the basking temperature? Don't know
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? Plastic. One of those filters that looks like a rock, plus a foam floating island.
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Lettuce almost every day, and I switch between two types of pellets every other day.
When was the last time your turtle ate? Yesterday

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 50 gallon
Is the tank near a window? Yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Only in the evening.

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Nope, just what I explained before.

[josephkr]

I think this is unrelated, but he has this thing where, when he's out of the water he'll crook his head to one side or the other and then snap. He makes a noise when he does that too.

[steve]

Not normal for it to be tender or soft. Was it soft to touch? Does it have a rough texture?

[josephkr]

Those spots have had thin layers flake off, but underneath it doesn't seem rough. It does feel a little spongey on those spots too. I haven't been poking it lately because it seemed like it really hurt him.

[steve]

If that's the case, then it's time to get him checked out. What kind of UVB light do you have? How long have you been using it?

[josephkr]

I had been using one for a year and a half, and I bought it used. When it went out I found out the UV light doesn't really work for more than a year so now I have a new one. I also realized he may be calcium deficient. I had a bone in his feeding dish, but not in his normal tank. I also realized I wasn't chipping the shell off the back of the cuttlebone, which was probably why he never showed a lot of interest in it. Since I've been giving him cuttlebones without the shell, and keeping them in his normal cage, he's been devouring them. Another sign I think he was calcium deficient. I've started to keep a better supply of cuttlebone and changed the UV bulb about a month ago. I'm hoping that might turn things around. Do you think it could?

[steve]

Without knowing the exact problem, I'm don't know if it would help. For instance, this might be shell rot in which case additional cuttlebone/UVB will not help.

[josephkr]

Yesterday I started some home remedies to see if I can curb the problem. If it gets any worse I will take him to a vet. I fed him, then cleaned his shell with a tooth brush and hydrogen peroxide (made sure not to get any in his eyes). Flakes of the under side of his shell came off while brushing it, but not whole scutes. After I cleaned it I applied neosporin with a q-tip to most of his bottom shell. Then I put him in a dry aquarium with one of my shirts he could crawl under to sleep. He spent the night in there. This morning I put him in his normal tank so he can swim and bask. I plan on doing this for about a week and track the condition of his shell as I go.

I'm thinking it may not be shell rot because those spots are not spongey as I thought they previously were (or they have become more solid with more calcium). The white spots did not scrape out like descriptions of shell rot said they should. The hydrogen peroxide also did not fizz as I think it would if this were some kind of infection. I poked around that one big spot on the lower right side and only one area of the spot seems to be tender. I'll probably post pictures when I see changes good or bad.

Thanks for your responses Steve.

[josephkr]

Okay, here's an update:

I'm still not sure what's going on. The tender spot looks like it's getting better, and that's the good news of the post. Now I've noticed some red spots on the underside. I'm making a second post with some other observations.

[josephkr]

The last week or so I've been taking Sgt. Drake Alexander out of his cage in the evenings, cleaning his shell with hydrogen peroxide and a toothbrush, and then applying Neosporin. I've been leaving him in a dry tank at night, but as of last night I think I'll keep him in the try tank during the night and day, and put him in his tank with water for a few hours in the evening.

Okay, I've noticed a few more concerns/symptoms I wanted to ask about.
1) I've started using Hydrogen Peroxide on the top shell and that produces some fizz, which is often pinkish colored. The first attached photo is one of the shell, dry.
2) The second picture is of some stool and I'm a little worried about. I've never seen his stool dry, so I don't know if it should look like this, but here it is. It stinks too (to be expected).
3) While cleaning his shell I noticed the scute in picture 3, which I've never noticed before. Is that normal?

[steve]

I'm concerned about the red spots, though I would try a few things before taking him to a vet. I'd gently scrub it with diluted Hibiclens or Novalson (chlorahexadine), let dry then apply a small amount of silver sulfadiazine and dry dock overnight.

I'm not familiar with what Hydrogen Peroxide would do to a turtle shell. I don't use it. Was that stool made in water? What has he been eating? The odd scute is just an overlap, it's normal and will be gone after he sheds.

What's the basking area like? I'd be very cautious about any abrasive surfaces he walks on (in or out of the tank).

[josephkr]

I'll try that regiment for the red spots.

The stool was made in his "dry dock." - An empty tank I had sitting around. I put a T-shirt in there, which I have now replaced with newspaper. He's mostly been eating pellets lately since I ran out of the dandelion lettuce I was feeding him. He'd been eating a lot of cuttle bone up till that point and now he's slowed down on that.

His basking area is a Tetra waterfall water filter, with a foam floating doc as a ramp for him to climb up. Nothing sharp.