Urgent Care :: Is this Shell Rot?

[kraezeeace]

My turtle has had shell rot before, and it was a spot, and it peeled away itself after basking a bit, but later on the black lines on the turtle had thick a thick gray all over. I moved him to a smaller tank away from the water and decided to change the water.

Picture:



How big is your turtle? 1.5 inches
How long have you had it? 7 months

What is the water temperature? 75
Did you use a thermometer? no
Are you using a water heater? no, room temperature
How much water is in there? 3/4 of a 10 gallon tank
Are you using a water conditioner? change water every week
Are you using any filtration? no

What is the basking temperature? around 85+
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? zoomed small
Is there a UVB light? no

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets, one time grapes
When was the last time your turtle ate? yesterday

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gallons
Is the tank near a window? yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? a little

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? just the white lining

[theartbook35]

I would need a clearer picture to tell for sure if that is or is not shell rot.

Does his shell feel softer than it should for a yearling? Is there any foul oder? That would indicate a possible shell rot.

My yearling does have natural black lines in between the scutes (plates). There is some gray coloring too. They've been that way for a whole year, no issues.

I would still need a clearer picture to see for sure.

[SpotsMama]

When you press gently on some of the scutes, does any water leak out around the edges? Can you see that any of the scutes are lifting around the edges?

There are some questions on a sticky at the top of the Urgent Care forum. Could you please paste the questions on here and answer them?

Also, any way to get a more focused picture?

[kraezeeace]

*Edited top

[marisa]

Overall, I don't see anything that would make me think shell rot. Where was the previous shell rot located?

Your turtle doesn't have a UVB light to bask under along with the basking light and is in a small tank with no filtration. He needs a UVB light (unless it's warm enough to take him outside regularly for direct sunlight) and unless you're being faithful with at least frequent partial water changes, decent filtration, which would need to be upgraded as he grows and gets a bigger tank (soon). Otherwise, you're courting shell problems.

[SpotsMama]

It looks to me like he's about to shed scutes. When turtles shed scutes, the very top, thin, translucent layer of shell comes off.

To keep his shell (and bones) healthy, he needs a lot of calcium in his diet. This is usually provided with cuttlebone (the kind that comes in the bird section of the pet store). Keep some pieces of cuttlebone in the tank for him to nibble on at all times.

In order to metabolize the calcium they eat, turtles have to be able to bask under UVB light. If you need recommendations on a good light bulb, let us know. For turtles, good light isn't really an option - it's necessary for their health.

Also essential to shell health is frequent basking (under the UVB light) where the shell gets to dry out completely - top and bottom. Otherwise, infections will develop. You need a heat producing light bulb (which the UVB bulb is not), like a regular household incandescent bulb, to produce the heat over the basking platform that will motivate the turtle to bask. What you wind up with is a two light bulb setup - UVB and heat - with both bulbs positioned over the basking area.

To promote scute shedding, turtles should have periodic servings of food containing vitamin e. Some examples are steamed sweet potato, tomato, blueberries, turnip greens and apple peel. A serving a week should do it.

Finally, it is essential that water quality be maintained. As long as your are operating without a filter and with a small tank, you'll need to be very diligent about the water changes. It can be done - I did it for a long time, changed 100% of the water and cleaned the tank completely twice a week - but life is a lot easier when you get a bigger tank and good filter. Then you don't have to work so hard to keep the water clean.

[kraezeeace]

Thank you, I have been keeping cuttlebone in the tank and am planning to get a UVB+UVA bulb soon, and to clear everything up, the last time my turtle shedded, I think it was just a piece of skin for the scute, not the whole thing, so maybe its shedding skin?

[SpotsMama]

Turtles shed both scutes and skin. Shedding skin is only visible when the turtle is in the water. You can see thin whisps of skin floating around the turtle like a halo. Sometimes you can see skin that has come off floating free in the water.

Scutes (the top, thin layer of shell) that have shed are hard, thin and usually translucent. They may look kind of like very thin fingernails.