Urgent Care :: I think it looks like shell rot...Photos **UPDATE**

[Luv_my_Turtle]

Hello to all,
I really hope you can help me here, I'm new to the whole turtle care thing but I've been reading through this forum and I've already learned tons. Well, just for some initial info I live in Brazil, and in my city there's no herp vet, so I'm sort of on my own. If you have any questions please feel free to ask. all help is welcome. These are the photos of her shell.









Theres no smell and her shell isn't soft. Thanks for any help.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I would be worried about those red spots,if theyre is more or if more begins to spread it could be septicemia .Keep in mind that septicemia is highly fatal and a visit to the vet is a MUST if you want to keep him alive.

Is he active and eating well?

[Luv_my_Turtle]

Yes, he/she's still active, basking alot, swimming around every once in a while, but not eating very well, these last few days at least she seems hungry but will spit out the pellets. I'm buying her a different brand of pellets today to see if she takes them.

What could have caused septicemia? She'll need to take antibiotics, right?

[xsavingsaturdayx]

If she is not eating well,then that is not a good sign.Bump her water temp to 82 degrees and take her to the vet ASAP.I dont know how septicemia can be caused but i know that it isnt something that should be fooled around with,a vet is the only way to save her if she does have the disease.And yes she will take antibiotics.

[Luv_my_Turtle]

I'll have to take her to a normal vet. I'm taking her today I soon as i get of work and then I'll post any new info. Talking to the Vet on the Phone he suspected it may be the water 'cause its not treated water it's from an artesian well. I'm scared.

[Luv_my_Turtle]

Does anyone else have a clue of what this looks like? Please help..

[marisa]

Some of those spots do look like shell rot (I doubt septicemia). What does the plastron/bottom shell look like? If the vet concurs, ask the vet if you can buy some Nolvasan (chlorohexidine) and silvadine ointment to begin cleaning and treating the shell.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Wow, Brazil! What a cool place to live!!!!!!!!

It looks like shell rot. Can you post pictures of the set up you have your turtle living in so we can help you determine where this problem started? What do you feed him? Is his shell soft? Do you give him calcium supplements like cuttlebone in his tank for him to snack on? Does he have an area of the tank where he can get completely out of the water, dry off, and bask under a UVA/UVB lamp or natural sunlight (I am not talking about sunlight thru a window because that blocks most of the UVB rays....I mean outdoor sunshine!).

If anything artesian water should be great for your turtle since it doesn't have any chlorine in it (chlorine can really irritate their eyes). Plus spring water usually has beneficial minerals in it (like calcium) which is good for their shell.

[Luv_my_Turtle]

I looks alot like shell rot, but the shell isn't soft or smelly. He gets plenty of natural sunlight with no filtering. I'm not at home right now so I can't post any more pics, but I will later today.

[Luv_my_Turtle]

So I went to the vet and he couldn't help me. He didn't have a clue about what to do. I ended up buying a med that has neomycin sulphate, which the vet said is antibacterial. I haven't used it yet because it's actually for fish and I have no idea if it could do any damage to the Turt. If anybody has any info it would be great. I took some more photos, so i hope it helps.










Now Please don't be mad. I know that this is not the ideal setup but it's a temp one. Also not to forget that it's almost always hot here. Fortunatly this month I'll be building her definite setup with water temp and filter all setup.




The water is also in a lower level than usual and I hadn't cleaned up yet.

Thanks for the help so far.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Maybe you should get a second opinion,from another vet.

[Turtle addict]

You can get chlorahexidene by another name....hibiclense, found for humans at the pharmacy. Soak the turtle in a 50/50 mix of it and water for 20 minutes a day for a week. That will kill the shell rot if it is that. If it's not rot then the places will still be there after the week and it's just shedding. Hard to tell from the pics which it is but I would soak to make sure. Drying out over night will also help both things. Place the turtle in a dark box when you normally turn the lights off and then in the morning put it back in the tank.

Septicimia- or blood poison is from an infection that gets into the bood stream and poisons the turtle from the inside killing them. There has to be a way for the infection to get inside the turtle, either a cut or something. And there has to be antibiotics to fix it. Baytril shots.

[industrial_girl_2000]

That's actually a nice setup since it allows the turt to get fully out of the water & walk around!

The only thing I would add is a few more water changes to keep the water more clean & clear.

Some of the spots on the shell looked like typical hard-water stains which isn't harmful (the 2nd set of pictures you posted looked like water stains to me since they look kinda silvery). The first set of pics you posted are the ones I was most worried about because it looked like the shell was starting to get some pits. Turtle addict had some good suggestions so definitely try those.

Let us know how it goes.

[Luv_my_Turtle]

The only thing I would add is a few more water changes to keep the water more clean & clear

Actually I do partial water changes every day and scrub every other day, but I have a problem with that green stuff (I just can't remember the name) And since I change the water so often it's kindda pointless to put any product in the water.

Some of the spots on the shell looked like typical hard-water stains

I thought it looked like that, but the red spots are the ones freeking me out. And until I build the definite setup it's useless to treat the water. (I'll be getting a filter)


What I'm doing right now is giving her some vitamins. And I'm looking for the chlorahexidene in the pharmacy. I'm having a hard time but I translated the name and I know it does exist around here. Another vet is going to take a look. I'll keep you updated. Tks for the all the help.

Vicky

[rocketright]

Hi, That looks really bad, you should never go to a regular vet for turtle helping, sometimes they may say that they can help, but end up killing your turtle... Where do you live, I know I will beable to find you a Herp Vet.