Urgent Care :: shell rot and turtle with no back legs

[turtle2000]

about a month ago I got two baby res from china town late at night... I got them the complete setup.... anyway my first turtle when I got him was very active and loved to jump in the water and climb back up and do it again but over time he doesn't do anything now just stays in the water all day and doesn't bask anymore and I never see him eat and I swear I think he is getting skinnier. and since I got him he had these matalic markings on his shell and I think they are getting bigger... they are on the top of his shell and they look real matalic in the water almost like silver.. they are outlining the circles of the top of his shell i think it might be shell rot...

My second turtle doesn't have any back legs I didn't notice it when I bought them that night they are kind of like little deformed stubs on him... but I don't believe it is bad for he is active and eats all the time and I love the little guy.. he also stopped basking for some reason... I have the same setup I had the water is warm about 78-80 and the light is warm as well.. they used to love to bask now they just stay in the water all day and night... at least the turtle with no legs is eating.... please help I am knew but I loves these guys and I want the first one to start eating and basking again...

[xsavingsaturdayx]

You need a vet as soon as possible,turtle 2000.You should have them both checked out,especially the one that hasnt been eating because he's maybe sick(most turtles that come from those little corner shops or uneducated pet stores are sick once you purchase them,due to the poor enclosures they provide for them) Or maybe the water is too cold? Plus the metallic marks on the shell are called shell rot ANOTHER reason why they need to go to a vet is because of the one with "deformed legs" its clearly not normal and even if he seems fine it could have been broken off somehow and it could be life threatning,Good luck with everything turtle2000..i hope you do the right thing.And another thing what is the setup like?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Another thing,bump up the temperature on your water heater to 82 degrees until you take them to a vet.Bumping the temperature up will help boost theyre immune system(in case the one thats not eating is sick) it also will MAYBE make him start eating again.

[flutterby]

First... savingssaturday, please learn to edit your posts and add them together instead of making several in a row.

turtle, please answer the questions here.
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142 and if possible please post pictures.

[turtle2000]

thanks guys I was thinking that myself.... I need to bring them to a vet... I don't care that i bought them from that place even know they were most likely sick to begin with.. I love those little guys and am going to do everything I can to get them better.. figure they are better off with me then back there... as for the turtle with no back legs I believe he was born like that.. I don't believe that they were bitten or broke off from the looks of it...

I'll answer the questions now...

How big is your turtle? 2 inches
How long have you had it? about a month

What is the water temperature? 78-80 but will boost it a bit
Are you using a water heater? yes a visi therm stealth heater

How much water is in there? 10gal filled half way
Are you using a water conditioner? yes reptisafe
Are you using any filtration? yes a fluval

What is the basking temperature? don't know but feels very warm to touch
Is there a basking light? yes reptisun 10.0
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes zoomed turtle dock
What kind is it or what is it made out of? zoommed turtle dock
Is there a UVB light? reptisun 10.0

What have you been trying to feed it? reptomin, turtle treats
When was the last time your turtle ate?

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10gal, I know but low on money upgrade in future.

Is the tank near a window? a windows is to the left of it but blinds are usally closed.

Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? not really just my bedroom..

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? both stopped basking for some reason.. one has no back legs looks like was born like that but is very active and eats all the time... the other one most like has turtle rot and won't eat at all.. will increase water temp and look for a vet...

[missibsu]

If you don't have a light to go with the UVB, that is likely the reason for no basking. UVB doesn't provide enough heat to entice your turtles to bask. A regular light bulb along side the UVB with raise the temps. Should be about 10 degrees warmer than you water temp. They may also need some privacy to bask. When my turtles were new they wouldn't bask with me present.

I think that a vet visit would be good. If anything a good check up is a good place to start. It will ease your mind.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

First... savingssaturday, please learn to edit your posts and add them together instead of making several in a row.

turtle, please answer the questions here.
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=2142 and if possible please post pictures.

Sorry

[turtle2000]

I have solved the problem why they weren't basking anymore... I made a change without even realizing it.. I have a regular fish tank cover that covers the whole top tank and I removed the front cover that opens because steam was fogging the glass.. when I did that the air wasn't able to retain the heat from the light.. so I put it back on and now my glass is all fogged up but they are basking again... I need a proper cover with a proper heat lamp but they are expenisve so I am going to have to go this way for now.... as for the sick turtle I still don't know.. hopefully a vet will be able to tell me what is wrong.. but I'm a little worried about how much a vet will cost.... I'm going to look into it but I might not be able to afford it... I might have to manually treat the shell rot..... though I am worried that becasue the glass is now fogging again my light my cause a problem... their is no glass between the light and the tank because I read it could block the uvb so I removed it after I removed the front cover but now that I put it back and fog is forming again is there a chance that it could break from steam rising up and hitting the light..

maybe if I remove the cut out in the back of the tank for a heater to sit through it would be enough to let the stream escape but small enough where the heat could retain.. what do you guys think

[Hoooneylynn]

I thought that the metalic scutes underwater are from shedding... here it says it in thist post: (countrygirl)

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=6753

also, turtle 2000, can you please post pics of the turtle with no back legs? I would like to see them.

[Muirner]

What wattage is your basking light. I use a 100 watt (i think or 150) watt basking bulb about 14" from my basking spot, maintaing 90* isnt a problem.

You shouldnt need to keep a cover on, for i have my whole 55 gal uncovered and it's not an issue.

About the vet, i'd say in the range of 40-60$ plus any meds. Maybe if you ask they could put it on a simple payment plan. 20$ for 2-3 months?

[CountryGirl68]

Shell rot is visible out of the water and appears as white blotches. Here's a picture I found of the *start* of shell rot:


Please note that shell rot is a form of ulcers in turtles and will literally eat away the shell if not treated. If this might be what your turtle has, a visit to the vet for treatment is absolutely necessary.

If you can only see the metallic or translucence when the turtle is underwater and it is *not* visible when his shell is dry, it is probably just shedding.

[turtle2000]

What wattage is your basking light. I use a 100 watt (i think or 150) watt basking bulb about 14" from my basking spot, maintaing 90* isnt a problem.

You shouldnt need to keep a cover on, for i have my whole 55 gal uncovered and it's not an issue.

About the vet, i'd say in the range of 40-60$ plus any meds. Maybe if you ask they could put it on a simple payment plan. 20$ for 2-3 months?

I dont' know what what it is maybe 15w or more.. I'm using a reptisun 10.0 18"... anyway as for pictures I don't own a camera but I do own a camra phone so tomarrow I will try to take some pictures with my camera phone and post them.... oh yea how do you post pictures?

[SpotsMama]

That reptisun 10.0 is a very good UVB bulb but it doesn't generate heat so it really isn't a basking light. For a basking light you'll need to add another light that will generate heat. A plain incandescent bulb will do it, or you can get a heat lamp that just puts out heat without the light.

Turtles won't get out of the water and bask unless the basking area is warmer than the water. The basking area needs to be at least 10 degrees warmer than the water. If your water is 80 degrees, then the basking area needs to be 90 degrees or a little more.

An incandescent bulb (like any old regular light bulb) is a good and inexpensive way to heat the basking area. There are a couple of things you need to do to make it safe: (1) Make sure it's far enough from the turtle that the turtle can't touch it and get burned. (2) Make sure the temperature in the basking area is right - not too hot or too cool - by measuring with a thermometer. (3) It's best to put some sort of screen between an incandescent bulb and the water because if the turtle splashes water on the bulb it might explode because it gets so hot. A screen will protect your turtle if this happens. If you use a screen, be sure the holes in the screen are big - 1/2 inch or so - so they won't block too much of the good UVB light from the reptisun bulb.

Keep up the good work! I'm very impressed that you're taking care of a handicapped turtle!

[turtle2000]

good news everyone... Ever since I raised the temp in the water and put the cover back on both my turtles are very active and are basking again... I still need to figure out about getting a heat lamp in my setup... think I'm going to buy a screen top so I can still use my light fixture with the reptisun 10.0 and go to home depo and try to find some kind of click on light and look for a cheap basking bulb.... that should work.... the turtle with the shell rot I don't believe he has shell rot anymore I believe he is shedding... for it looks like I can now see right through some of it to what looks like a healthy shell undernieth.. not to mention the silver shine under water isn't as noticable anymore... I also caught him eating today which makes me very happy... I will be going out looking for a good screen cover tomarrow any suggestions about buying a fixture for the heat lamp... remember needs to be cheap and small.. I need it to click on the back of the 10 gal tank behind the reptisun fixture so it needs to be small enough to fit back there....

[flutterby]

If you get a screen, I believe the holes have to be 1/2 inch or it blocks the UVB waves and the basking light you can get a cheap one from Walmart or a grocery store in the dollar section most of the time. You can get the clamp fixtures from Home Depot for a few dollars.