Urgent Care :: Badly Broken and Rotting(?) Shell

[javert03]

Hey,

The turtle in question is about ~7" and lives outdoors in our ~45 gal backyard pond. The temperature outdoors has been in the mid-80s recently but in the 90s and 100s before that, so I don't think the water is too cold, although I don't have a thermometer in it. We have a pump/filter that seems to work tolerably well, and we changed about half of the water a couple weeks ago. The pH, alkalinity, and hardness are kinda high.

History:
While home from college on break last April, I was driving with my brother and he spotted a turtle in the middle of our street (we live in the city). The turtle looked somewhat beaten up with white showing from under its shell and a large crack on the left side of its shell. We took it home and put it in a tub of water in our backyard (there was no water in the pond at that point). It apparently didn't like the water, and while we weren't looking climbed out and disappeared.

I found it a couple months later buried in leaves under one of our bushes. The pond now had water in it so I put the turtle in with the goldfish. I assumed the turtle had health problem but would start getting better because:
-It spent months (apparently) not eating, but now has a voracious appetite for turtle pellets and the leaves of my mom's water plant.
-It used to be extremely sluggish, spending all its time sleeping in the bush, but now is extremely active, swimming back and forth floating on the surface, occasionally chasing the goldfish (although it's not eaten any...yet), and spending a couple hours each day sunning itself on a rock. It was very hard getting pictures of it because it would not stay still. I think in the proverbial turtle vs. hare race, this turtle would win without any competition.

The Problem:
I just noticed the crack on the turtle's shell has worsened. In fact, it's not just a crack anymore--a whole chunk of shell is missing. Also, one of the original white spots on the shell is soft, although I never checked it before so maybe it always has been. Is it rot, fungus, calcium deficiency? I think it's safe to say this turtle has not been getting enough veggies. It's eaten all the leaves that it can reach on the water plant, but that's certainly not 50% of its diet. Could that be aggravating the problem? Thanks for your advice.

btw, there is also a small, ~2" RES living in the pond. We moved it there from its <1 gal tank a little before we put the big turtle in and it seems to be fine, at least there's nothing wrong with its shell.

The habitat:


Presumably healthy behavior of fleeing from the camera:


The problem areas:


Front problem:



Back problem:

[Kemul]

The turtle looks healthy but the shell is really not: exposed bone, shell rot, cracked
shell, needs shedding, and probably algae growing at the crack. If you love the
turtle, you need to improve the habitat and take it to a vet for treatment.

RES is usually an escape artist, not that it doesn't like the water. RES likes to
explore and buries itself under plants or even dirt.

The 1 gallon place for your 2" turtle is too small.

Please read all the basic care here.

[worldpeace]

That shell looks really bad. You should try dry docking her and taking her to a doctor as soon as possible.

[gwennie]

That poor turtle has some pretty bad shell injuries...

The white (hard part) that's showing through the normal shell is actually exposed bone matter where the outer shell has come away in the injury.

I'd think seriously about getting her to a vet to get looked at - shell injuries that deep often end up becoming infected and can turn into metabolic bone disease or make the turtle eventually go septic if they're not kept clean during the long, long healing process.

It's good that the turt is basking though - the sun is really good for their shells.

I know you have this turtle outside currently, but I wouldn't keep her outside through the coming winter with injuries like that - it'd be leaving him/her (couldn't really see the front claws well, but I'd say her?) open to all sorts of bugs and possible infections.

If you're not willing to shell out (no pun intended, really!) the money for vet visits, I'd think about turning the turtle over to a vet willing to take it in and treat it and rehome. Or possibly finding a turtle rescue center in your area, if there is one.

[javert03]

Thanks for your replies.

@Kemul: regarding the 2" turtle, yes, the container was definitely too small, which is why he's been living in the pond. Regarding the quality of the habitat, having read some articles about sliders I didn't get the impression it was too bad, although granted it could be better. As a general question, is algae a problem for turtles? It's growing on everything in the pond, but the water is pretty clear. I guess a turtle this damaged though may not even be able to handle normal conditions.

Thanks for your suggestions, Gwennie. You're probably right about "her". Its/her front claws are about the same length as the back ones. I'll definitely take her to a vet and/or find another home for her. From my few months' experience, I really enjoy turtles and want to build a bigger, more appropriate pond for them, but as a college student I don't exactly have the resources for that just yet. I may have to continue this new-found hobby with a more healthy turtle later.

But, since you're all available to answer questions, I'll shoot off a few more.

Can turtles actually recover from this kind of injury? If treated well, will this turtle ever regrow all those missing chunks of shell, including the big chunk in the back? If so, how long would that take?

While this turtle appears healthy except for the shell, is there anything contagious about its shell problems (fungal, bacteria etc) that a fully healthy turtle should be kept away from?

Should I put a cuttle bone in the pond to keep away other shell troubles for the little 2" guy?

Thanks!

[gwennie]

I would say that the turtle will never fully regain the shell where that big chunk is missing.

With a lot of time, care & effort on your part, the turtle might be able to recover from these injuries, but if they happened in April, and weren't cleaned out then, it's really hard to say what might happen.

If treated very, very well, it is possible that the turtle's shell might heal up somewhat, but I wouldn't say that she'd ever look like a normal turtle again. It'd take many years and many sheds to heal up, and turtles heal very, very slowly.

I can refer you to another turtle forum with a large thread regarding exposed bone matter in shells/shell injuries, if you like. I was actually reading this thread earlier today: click here for the thread - that thread has some stories about turtles with shell injuries.

Algae isn't really a big problem for turtles with normal shells. I'm not sure if it'd be a problem for this turtle with her shell in such a bad shape though.

I don't think you'll have to worry about the smaller turtle's shell. The most common infection passed between turtles in the same habitat are respiratory infections, but if the larger turtle develops shell rot (she might be already there with some of the spots being quite soft as you pointed out) it is possible that the smaller one might be more susceptible to this if his/her shell gets any abrasions on it.

A cuttle bone will help both turtles in the mean time.

On an unrelated note: a 45 gallon pond is already too small for the larger turtle, and will only be good for your smaller one for a short while. Folks suggest 10 gallons of water per inch of shell, and some even go so far as to add on an extra 15-20% of that.

Being outside in that pond with those exposed parts of bone and shell are really not the most ideal environment for that injured turtle.

[marisa]

Really, take the turtle to a herp vet. I don't know where you are, but if it's going to get cool/cold in the coming months, consider bringing the turtle in for the winter. The turtle shouldn't be outside in that condition; the pond is too small even for a healthy turtle.