Urgent Care :: Not sure what this is but i am concerned.......

[phish]

My RES is in good health, had her for over a year, well for about 9 months or more she has had this kind of clearish white "scales" on the top of her head, not on her shell, it is not an open wound or rot or anything like that, it's almost like a skin disorder. Kind of like psoriasis on a human (scaly skin). Trying to be as descriptive as possible, you can notice it more whe she is in water, kind of clearish in color, almost shiny, and like a lot of overlapping circles. It was only in one small spot direct middle top of her head, but now it seems to slowly be spreading, so i am concerned now. Nowhere else on her body, just that one spot on her head. Again, when she is basking on dry land, you can hardly notice it, jsut looks a little dried out. I dont' have a camera on me (girlfriend has it at school) so i can't send a picture, so i hope i left enough detail. So what is this? and what should i do or shoudli i be concerned?

[Ferd]

it sounds to me like she needs to shed her skin on her head. giv it time and i bet it will soon start to peel off.

[steve]

There are some pics here... not sure if it will help: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

How large is your turtle? Is it wispy under water?

[cprcheetah]

It sounds like it is shedding. As Steve asked, is it wispy? My turtle has wispy skin shedding. He's getting over it, but he has come a long way since I've gotten him.

[phish]

I have seen her skin shed off before, mostly on her legs, the "wispy" look you are talking about, but again, this is different, it's not like white, just kind of clear scaly looking, and to be honest, not that noticeable. But it is there, i and i just dont' want it to spread, if it was peeling, or shedding, cool, but again, it has been this way for months, how long does it take them to shed? I wish the skin infection reading showed some pics, but i have seen some pics before, and it's nothing that extreme at all, it kind of reminds you of like a very very thin layer of barnacles you want to peel off, like you could scrape it off. Again though, this is very very minor, most woudn't notice ti without looking. But i also am almost certain it is abnormal. Maybe someone can give me more insight despite the vagueness of the description