I apologize in advance for the lengthy post....Jasmine's shell problem started before she arrived in the United States. An Italian vet said he didn't think it was fungus, but had my niece treat her with a blue solution (nolvasan ? - I was already back in the States, so I'm not sure what it was.) for a week, and gave her daily injections an antibiotic for 7 days. There may have been a slight improvement, but not much if any. This vet didn't have any other ideas, and he was the only reptile vet in the area. When she arrived in the States I took her to the closest reptile vet 1 1/2 hr. away. He didn't know what the problem was, but didn't feel it was a fungus. He said it could be a congenital shedding disorder, or a metabolic disorder. It took a few months after they arrived here before they started basking on a regular basis. The vet thought once she did that the shell would start to improve. When it didn't, I took her back. This time he did three scrapings and sent them to the university for cultures. They found some bacteria. He didn't feel that was the problem, but rx'd 7 days of baytril injections just in case it was an issue. The fungal cultures came back negative after 30 days. The baytril injections did nothing that I could visibly notice. She has since really slowed down on eating, so it was suggested she get b12 injections once weekly for 4 weeks. She has had two, and I haven't seen a big jump in her appetite. She has recently started going crazy to get out of the tank. I had her xray'd, and she doesn't have eggs. My local vet has agreed to give the injections, but doesn't treat reptiles, so I took her back to the original doctor on Monday. They are at a loss. They aren't real concerned about the decrease in appetite this time of year. With no visible eggs, they don't know why she all the sudden is frantically trying to get out of the tank. They still don't think the shell problem looks like fungus, and the cultures were negative, but wanted me to start blotting her with 1:20 nolvasan daily....I leave it on 15 minutes...rinse...and put her back in the tank. Theodore's shell looks great. They have been in the same tanks...under same lights...eaten the same food since they were the size of a half dollar or smaller. He recently shed. Jasmine basks more than him and always has, but she still has baby scutes. I read spotsMama's post, History of curing a Turtles shell, and the pictures look similar. I have all brands of food. Until a few months ago they ate reptomin with veggies/fruit. When their appetite slowed down I started trying other foods...mazuri...flukers...zoo med...hikari wheat germ. The water parameters are good, other than high Ph and alkaline. I have a 6' x 2' x 2' tank with two fx5 filters, that I clean monthly, and have set up according to VeipaCray's media layout. I have an above tank basking area. It is about 2' x 2' x 14". I have two 100 watt bulbs for heat...one on each side. I have two UVB lights. Jasmine basks on a regular basis, several hours some days. I would appreciate any advice on her shell. I have attached two pictures, one of Jasmines shell, and one of Theodore's for comparison. The pics make it look like Jasmine and Theo are the same size, but she is at least twice his size. Thanks in advance.
- Jasmine
- Theodore
Posted: Thu Feb 21, 2013 1:30 am Shell problems...
Timmy & Chewy & Ike 
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Baby Timmy & Ranger
