Urgent Care :: Shell issues

[KellyGraham]

Pictures Below

I have an adult RES female approx. 6inches in length whom I have just transfered from an outdoor pond to an indoor aquarium (that she was in before the outdoor pond) whom is having some shell issues.

When I brought her inside I noticed that her shell seemed dry, probably from basking in pure sunlight so much. I decided to put her in the sink and use a soft tooh brush to remove some of the algae. Her shell began to come off in thin pieces! When I noticed two small white spots beneath the shell that had shed I began to worry that she had soft shell and stopped the cleaning process. The two white spots are not soft, but feel more like exposed bone. None of her shell is soft, however there is a noticable difference in texture from the shell that shed and the shell with the green algae like substance.

I have the water temperature at 78 degrees and she does have a basking area nearer the UVB bulb. She has a cuttlebone, and she is fed frozen aquatic adult turtle food daily along with a few dry pieces of commercial turtle food. She has never taken fresh veggies from me. She is also occasionally fed feeder goldfish, but not since I noticed the shell issues.

The veterinarian perscribed baytril once daily for 1 week thinking that it was shell rot, and not soft shell. She believes that my turtle should be getting plenty of calcium in her diet and that she is also getting enough uvb light.

My turtle is eating well and very active. She basks during the day and sleeps in the water at night. I have looked through the forum to see if anyone had similar pictures or issues and I couldn't find anything. If you can give me confidence that I am doing the right thing and that my vet diagnosed her correctly, I would appreciate the feedback. Thanks!

[KellyGraham]

My turtle's skin is also shedding excessively. The water has a lot of thin skin pieces from her legs and neck area. I read that shedding is natural?

[rsour24]

shedding is natural white spots r not
i dont think it is soft shell so i think ur vet said the right thing

[KellyGraham]

Thanks for your reply. I'm sure my vet is correct, I'm just a little worried about my turt.

[rsour24]

i know the feeling

[KellyGraham]

Do you think I should do any more shell cleaning or just leave it alone until the white spots heal? I hope I didn't cause any problems by cleaning her shell.

[rsour24]

i dont think u caused any problems but id let it go til she heals, her being in filtered clean water in an aquarium should get it off, just might take a lot longer

[Kemul]

I think the turtle needs a good shed. Moving to a better environment will cause
more skin shedding. You're right to stop feeding goldfish. You need to start
giving veggies and portion the pellets.

Get rid of the gravel, the size is smaller than the turtle's head and the turtle may
swallow the gravel, which is not good at all. Add more water to the tank and use
a good filter.

To encourage shedding, feed food with vitamin E such as blueberries and sweet
potato (not too much though). Make sure the turtle basks daily, drying top and
bottom shell.

Good luck!

[seanwb]

My turtle's skin is also shedding excessively. The water has a lot of thin skin pieces from her legs and neck area. I read that shedding is natural?

Shedding is natural.

They really shed a lot when moved to warmer water such as from outside to a heated indoor tank (or from a cold tank to warm)

My REs was rescued from outdoors and frightened me by shedding a lot but it quickly settled. Same with Mississipi Map when I got it (previous owner had kept in unheated tank).


Suggest you stop using the toothbrush just in case you make shell worse.

[KellyGraham]

Get rid of the gravel, the size is smaller than the turtle's head and the turtle may swallow the gravel, which is not good at all. Add more water to the tank and use a good filter.

I'm using a repto filter... is that not a good filter? My tank is a 55 gallon tank... how much water should I have in it? I know that turtles can ingest rock, but mine never has. Should I still remove it? Can you post a pic of your tank for me to see please?

Also, Raphaela won't take fresh fruit or veggies from me. She never has. I've offered them to her before. Should I try blueberries again? Should I place them on her basking area, or float them in her water where she takes her other food from?

Thanks for the replies!

[KellyGraham]

I was wondering... most of you have more than one turtle in the same tank. Do turtles do better with other turtles? Would a 55 gallon tank be big enough for two turtles?

[Kemul]

KellyGraham,

A filter is considered good if it can cycle the amount of water in the tank 3-5 times
in an hour. More is better, as long as the outflow doesn't create great turbulence
that the turtle can't swim.

As much water as safely possible in your tank would be great. You need to allow
some room for the basking area and make sure that the turtle can't escape.

To be on the safe side, it's better to remove the gravel. None of us can watch our
turtles every second of the day.

Keep trying offering veggies in the tank. You can try using a veggie clip, it
might entice the turtle better. You can keep trying the blueberries or sweet
potatoes for vitamin E, just not too much.

Aggression may result with two turtles in a tank. Really, it's better of to have
one turtle in a tank. I have two because of an "accident". I lost my first turtle,
then bought another after a couple months. About 6 months after the lost, the
missing turtle was found. I can't have another tank, so I put two turtles in a tank.

You said your turtle is 6 inches. Your 55 gallon is enough for just that turtle.
I really don't recommend you getting another one.

[seanwb]

I have 2 turtles 2 tanks.

Do turtles do better with other turtles? ?

If you search the forum, you will find some turtles live together Ok. All too often though they injure each other

Would a 55 gallon tank be big enough for two turtles?

It is not big enough for one fully grown turtle

[corey7144]

I think your vet is right and thats alot of algae... Do you know of a vet in the Milwaukee area that can look at turtles. My turtles fine but it would be nice to know of one.

[KellyGraham]

quote]

It is not big enough for one fully grown turtle[/quote]

How long is a fully grown turtle?