General Care Discussion :: Spots on their shell

[Cindylou]

I bought 3 baby RES from a local pet store in November. I gave one to my sister for her birthday. She had another RES that she has had for a couple of years. They are together and both are doing fine. After a week one of mine died. I'm not sure what happened but he was a tiny bit smaller than my other one and was greener in color. Tate (my survivor) is fine. I thought he might like company and Saturday I bought two more at another local pet store. I put those 2 in the tank with Tate. I didn't notice until I got them home that one had a crack on his shell. I named him Krackle and he seems fine. The crack seems visible in the water and looks silvery in color. He appears to be healthy and has a good appetite. The other new baby had little light green spots on his back so I named him Freckles. Today those spots appear silvery in color. Since I am new I'm not sure if this is something to be concerned about. All turtles act happy and eat good. I don't want anything to happen to Tate if the other 2 are sick. Help please.

[jenaero]

It's hard to tell without photos. Can you get some clear shots? There may not have been anything really wrong with the one that died. Some hatchlings just don't make it. The fact that they're all eating is a good sign. Please post pics for further investigation.

[Cindylou]

OK I took a couple of pictures but I can't seem to figure out how to attach them.

[JimmyLo]

Ok, green spots - not to worry, he's probably growing out of his "greenhood" - they get less green on their shells, naturally with a pelleted diet.

Crack in a shell - a bit more of a concern, like the others have said: need a photo or a really accurate description to know for sure.

Advice: One thing I was fortunate enough to learn early on in my RES care, is that you really need to spend a good solid 30 minutes watching your chosen turtle. That way you can know exactly how healthy it'll be, how good it'll eat, how hard it'll fight, how much it basks/sleeps, if it's sick, if it has a strong hunger response. Good signs with all those things tell you that you've very likely picked a healthy, thriving turtle.

Don't get me wrong, I think every turtle deserves a home. But, there is a line there too... if you're going to spend your money on something, you want your money's worth. I know that those two philosophies totally contradict each other - but I'm sure there are other people here who would agree. You can't adopt every single turtle in the world, but you want to give every one of them a fighting chance. It's our biggest dilemma.

[steve]

If you use another site to host, there are instructions in my signature. If your pic is small enough, go to FULL EDITOR, then select UPLOAD ATTACHMENT.

[Cindylou]

[steve]

It might be what's called a wet scud.... http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

[Cindylou]

It appears to me that the white spots are multiplying. Tate is still fine (no spots) and all three turtles have a very healthy appetite. Their shells are hard, no smell and you can't feel the spots. The spots are only on the top of their shells. It doesn't exactly look like the scud picture on ATP. I'm wondering what I should do to treat this. Suggestions?

[Cindylou]

[steve]

It looks more like fungus in that last picture. Do you have a higher resolution pic? Could you email it to me if it's too large to post?

[Cindylou]

This is Krackle and his spots are mostly towards the back middle. I hope you can see the picture and spots good.

[Cindylou]

This is Freckles and his spots are all around. When I first got him they appeared light green in color and within a couple of days had turned white. To me the spots seem more visible under water, looking almost silvery in color. Maybe because I have a UVA and a UVB light on them. Is that possible? Tate basks a lot more than Freckles or Krackle.

[Cindylou]

I have my turtles in a 10 gallon aquarium with about 4 inches of water. They have a basking ramp. They each get 1 ReptoMin and 2 Omega One pellets every day. I have a ReptoGuard turtle in their aquarium. I change their water about every 5 days and put the Reptisafe in with every change. I hope all this information helps and I can find out the shell spots problem and cure it.

[steve]

It most likely is fungus. The diet sounds fine and is not the cause of it.... it's usually inadequate filtration and lack of basking. The reptisafe is water conditioner and we don't really recommend it - carbon is cheap and easy to use to remove chlorine. The reptoguard (dr. turtle, sulfa block, etc) don't really work and are not recommended either.

Since it's in the early stages, you can probably treat it quickly with silver sulfadinze cream. Do you know of a vet who might prescribe it?

[Cindylou]

I've got some Silverdine cream that was prescribed to me for a burn. Can I safely use it on my turtles? Do I just put it on their shells, just the white spots, Tate too? What about betadine and dry docking? Will betadine and Silverdjne not hurt the turtles eyes and mouth? Should I take the Reptoguard turtle out of their aquarium? I don't use a filter because the water level is low plus I have a screen on top of the aquarium. I change their water a couple of times a week, whenever it looks cloudy of dirty. Do I just use tap water and if so is it safe? One more question to add should I feed my little hatchlings lettuce, dandelions and other greens? Thanks for your help. I don't want to sound like a worry wart...just want to give my babies the best possible care and life I can.