Urgent Care :: My 1st turtle. Help! There is something on him!

[m_anne]

I have my first turtle, and I took him out to take these pictures. I'm not sure if there is something wrong with him, but it looks like white stringy fuzz. There are pictures here at the link below. I tried cleaning him off, and it's floating around him in the pictures. It is on his neck, and on his tail.

Please help me

http://s408.photobucket.com/albums/pp166/m_anne_m/

[zoologist]

he is just shedding his skin. nothing to worry about.

[m_anne]

Thank you so much! I was very worried about him. I was reading up on fungal infections, and anything else this might have been, and hoping that he was okay, Thanks again!!

[SpotsMama]

So the white stuff that's showing in the pictures is what came off his neck and legs - not his shell? It looks like it's from his shell in the photos but maybe that's because it's floating above him in the water.

If it's shed skin from his legs and neck, then he may be shedding more heavily than normal. Water temps that are too warm (should be around 78 degrees) or too much food can cause that. Check the water temp and if it's it's high, try lowering it a few degrees. Also check his diet according to the guidelines on this site.

A little skin shedding (like what shows around his neck in one of the photos) is normal. When a turtle has been living in unhygenic conditions and is moved to a healthier habitat, sometimes there's a very heavy short term skin shed that slows down after a few days or a week. Continuous heavy shedding can be a sign of a skin infection.

Probably your guy is shedding normally but if you continue to see the big pieces of skin floating around, let us know.

[marisa]

Keep his water clean---excess skin left in the water along with other debris will also contribute to shedding.

Make sure his basking area temp isn't too warm, in the range of 88-90F is good.

[scriabin]

Hi - I'm going to post here instead of starting a new thread -

Today I came home and Terra had similar white stringy stuff coming off her neck and chin - I've had her for a month and she's always had a little milky white spot on her neck, which looks similar but until tonight seemed to be getting better - she is also missing a claw and there is similar growth which has swelled around that.

The main change in their environment is that their basking bulb burnt out last night and I replaced it with a large halogen bulb - I positioned it to keep the basking area in the same range, but the new position has definitely raised the temp of the water to 80-82 degrees (it was more 76-78 before)

Our relationship is improving but we're not at the point where she will let me clean her neck. I'm switching out the light - what else can I do? What else should I be worried about?

[steve]

If it is thin, translucent, wispy and disappears when out of water -- then it's skin. The missing nail is a separate issue. Is that a recent event?

[scriabin]

I adopted her out of a somewhat abusive situation, the nail was missing when I got her - I'd say she lost it 4-6 weeks ago but I can't say for sure.

So the skin thing is nothing to worry about?

[marisa]

Not if it's normal shedding. You don't need to clean the neck, the skin will come off on it's own.

[Bascomb]

ann-m -- The shedding is normal, however I would suggest that you lower the temp a little. I would suggest 75 or 76 and to keep the water super clean. Good Luck -- b.

[m_anne]

Thanks so much for all of your responses.

I changed the water temp so it's around 76 now, from around 79. I can try lowering this a little more too. I am feeding him turtle pellets and I also change about 50% of his water every week.

I'll try moving his lamp a little further away from his basking area, to see if this clears up the problem, but this does begin week 2 this.

When I take him out of the water, the film does seem to go away a little, but I can still see little bits of this out of the water. This is not coming from his shell, and only from his skin around his neck, tail, and legs.

_________________

[SpotsMama]

If it's just a small amount of shedding, then no problem. If on the other hand, it's continuously heavy, you probably need to see a vet about a potential skin infection caused by his previous poor living conditions.

Here are some examples. First is light skin shedding:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... %2A#137696

Light to moderate skin shedding:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=15453

Abnormally heavy shedding, probably a skin infection:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=14653