Urgent Care :: Is this Shell Rot?

[alluneedislove26]

Hello! I recently became the proud owner of a baby RES (his name is Paul Simon-my friend found him in a swimming pool and brought him home- i confiscated him bc he was an unfit parent and am trying to give him the best home possible). I was looking at his shell today after reading all about possible RES health problems and was just making sure that the white outline on his shell was not shell rot. Sorry if I'm being paranoid but I've only had him 5 days and I just want to make sure he lives a long and awesome life I am also a nurse so it is in my nature to worry and be paranoid :/ haha Also I know nothing about turtles.. humans yes, turtles no haha so please share your turtle wisdom with me! Thank you!!




FAQs:
How big is your turtle? 1.5"x1.5"
How long have you had it? 5 exciting days!

What is the water temperature? 77F
Did you use a thermometer? YES
Are you using a water heater? not YET (i get paid again in 2 weeks and will be upgrading all his equipment then)
How much water is in there? umm maybe 3-4g?
Are you using a water conditioner? YES
Are you using any filtration? YES

What is the basking temperature? 79F (I know it needs to be hotter but it wont warm up! I have 2 lights too! If anyone has any advice it would be greatly appreciated
Is there a basking light? YES (the guy at petsmart told me to buy 3 lights.. so I have a night time light, a basking light, and another white light that im not sure what its used for to be honest...)
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? YES
What kind is it or what is it made out of? It is a cave like thing made out of fake rocks
Is there a UVB light? YES

What have you been trying to feed it? turtle pellets that are high in calcium
When was the last time your turtle ate? 5 min ago

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10g (For NOW like i said he will be getting a major upgrade in a few weeks)
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? I have never seen Paul Simon bask.. he will sick his head out of the water and hand on to the basking area but i have never seen him actually fully out of the water...i will take him out and put him on the basking area but he quickly scurries back into the water.. he seems to LOVE swimming about! but this is why I am freaked out about shell problems.. i know they need to bask but for some reason he will not Also this morning I woke up and the tank was cloudy (it has been Crystal clear up until this point) but from what I understand that will usually clear up on its own-just thought id mention it incase it has some significance.

***UPDATE: I FINALLY caught hm basking this morning! YAY! I put on all 3 lights to hopefully warm up the tank and he seems to like it Still concerned about the shell though.. Any insight would be helpful thanks again so much!!!

[steve]

He looks good, though I'd try to get his setup ready as soon as possible (maybe borrow some $ if you can). I'm not sure I see any issues with the shell.

[alluneedislove26]

ok thank you! ive been so worried! Well I mean he has an ok setup now (filter, UVB light, 2 basking lights, basking area, plants, 4 kinds of food) its just the tank is smaller than I would want (10g) but from what I understand he will be alright in that for the next 2-3 weeks until I can buy him another one I mean he seems happy (diving, basking, eating, etc) I jus saw white on his shell so I was freaking out ab shell rot!! Thanks so much for your input!

[steve]

I would get a basic submersible heater at the very least.. you'd want to keep water temperatures consistent.

[alluneedislove26]

yep I ordered him one online and it comes in next week and his water has been ab 78- 80 degrees and basking area about 86 degrees so i figured he would be ok until then Thanks so much again!!