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Hi all,

i am concerned for my 4mnth old YBS's shell as yesterday i noticed 2 of his scutes have begun to raise slightly and i pressed gently and they move inwards abit, seems to be air underneath them. I am reluctant to encourage the scutes to come off until i know any more. i have attached a photo. He is completely normal within himself, eating well, swimming, basking. is this just shedding or something more serious? They eat Mealworms, dried shrimp, and pellets, i have recently become aware he needs to eat more fish so am starting to feed them that. he has plenty of swim space and depth.

Many Thanks

James

He's shedding his scutes. Don't force them off, they'll come off on their own.

Phew thanks thats reassuring

There is some pyramiding, you might want to cut back on the diet and reevaluate it.

Now i am really concerned!! The scutes have suddenly come off, and theres a hole in his shell it looks like. Pleasenadvise what i canndo and if i should be worried as i was expecting another scute to be underneath if he was shedding. I thought i was giving my turtles the best care possible, really thrown by this where have i gone wrong?

Many thanks

Hard to tell what it is, is it soft? Is there any texture to it? Any smell? Can you post a picture of it dry?

I have tried a dry photo. There is no distict smell from the hole, its not soft, but with a little pressure it starts to bend, this seems to be the same as the other side of the shell in the same place. I also have a cumberland slider, he is growing alot faster, but no issues with shell. They seem perfectky gapoy and hes unphased by the hole it doesnt seem tender to him? Could this be that hes not basking enough (a suggestion someone made but just a suggestion)

Many thanks

Might have been an infection under the scute, though that normally happens with retained scutes, not pyramiding. The unusual scute pattern might could have contributed to this. The center top might be a flesh layer. Hard to say without an in person inspection. If there is any necrotic tissue, then a vet visit is a must.

If my turtle had a spot on his shell like that I'd be calling the nearest herp vets and trying to get an appointment right away. I can definitely see that black spot on the shell in the first picture. In case that's caused by infection, maybe you should separate your turtles? (if they weren't separated already.)