Urgent Care :: Can someone tell me whats wrong with my turtles' shells??

[yyx748]

I have two turtles and both are developing this weird glaze all over their shell (top bottom and sides) for months.

It doesn't feel squishy, wet, stinky or leaking pus.

Can anyone give me a clear direction and please just tell me what it is??

1. Shell fungus
2. Shell rot
3. Mineral deposits
4. Metabolic bone disease
5. Shedding (normal and nothing to worry)
6. Retained scutes
7. Something else

Turtle A









Turtle B (full fledge and I can barely see the design of its shell)

[Linus]

Looks like Shell Rot. And a very serious case at that.

[steve]

It looks more like shell fungus to me, or at least similar to what my turtle had. Can you tell us more about your setup? Basking areas?

[yyx748]

Ok so this used to be my set up.



The heat and uvb bulbs are





However, I've just changed my UVB bulb yesterday to an Exo Terra bulb cuz I guess its a better brand and I've been using the Arcadia for about 9 months. Hope that it would cure whatever they're having. (they're both basking now as I'm typing this )




So as for their tank, I do a full cleaning of the tank every 10 days (thrice a month) with a 50% water change every time.
I would then add some Aquarium Salt cuz its suppose to bring the hardness down and prevent fungus.

My turtles eat well and are pretty active.

I'd tried various medications for my turtles to try solving their shell problem but nothing works. .

• Azoo Anti-Fungus Treater (tired for a week, even the mildest-infected spot showed no slight changes)
• Betadine (tired for a week, even the mildest-infected spot showed no slight changes)
• Brushing shell with vinegar (if it were Mineral Deposit, no change as well)

So ExoTerra UVB bulb is pretty much my last resort. If it doesn't cure whatever they're having, then I'm not sure what else i can do. Maybe a vet?

Right now I'm hoping that its just Metabolic Bone Disease which can be cured by a good UVB light and cuttlebone.

[steve]

Metabolic Bone Disease is pretty terrible, I would still rather have shell fungus over that. The fungus is tricky to treat and can reoccur aggressively, but it's not as serious as long as you monitor other aspects of shell health.