General Care Discussion :: Female res shell care

[coreyjw34]

I have two female red ear sliders, ironically named tom and Jerry, i've had them now for about 5 years. space in my home has always been an issue so it has been a worry to me that their habitat hasn't been 100% where i would like it to be for them.

(Weekend project coming up to build a very nice stock tank habitat,i finally have time and space, very excited!)

My main question is about the larger turtles shell, i have noticed some problems on the belly of the turtle, a dark coloration on her left side, between the from and rear leg, the shell is a darker shade or covered slightly with a black residue. there are also a few indents in the shell (belly only) no blood or tissue have ever shown, they are just kind of indents or holes?

any information regarding this would be great. and like i said, there habitat was not 100% i always had a basking area , lighting, heater, filtration, but im making a major improvement this weekend.

[Kansasslider]

Not sure about the shell issue. Pictures are really needed. I can however offer help with the stock tank build. Update the build as you go and please take pictures. What size tank are you getting?

[coreyjw34]

okay will do, pictures will be up soon.

well im trying to decide which size stock tank i want, im going to build a frame around it so that i can have almost a table around the tank for the basking (the tank will be completely full)

Im wondering if because i will have basking outside the tank , can i use a smaller stock to be full to the top with water? I was first thinking a 100 gallon rubbermaid, but i may go with just a 70

also i just saw on my local tractor supply co. website that they have a 100 gallon "tuff stuff" tank, its much cheaper, any review on tuff stuff?

thank you!

[coreyjw34]

i will also be making a canister filter

[Kansasslider]

Not sure about tuff stuff tanks but that's where I got my Rubbermaid 300 for around $250. I would go with a 150 gal rubbermaid. All depends on how big your turtle. gets.But in my opinion bigger is always better.

[Kansasslider]

For help with your dyi filter. Look up Skippy filter on YouTube.

[coreyjw34]

okay will do, and yeah thats the video i watched for the filter, it was very helpful.

how do i post pictures to this?

[Kansasslider]

Just did some research on tuff stuff tanks. Looks like they are good tanks so I say go for it if they are cheaper. As for posting pictures, click on full editor. Then you willsee upload attachment. Click on that and upload the picture you want. if it tells you the file is too large you will have to make them smaller with a photo editor app. I am using a phone so I have to put my Pict on photo bucket first then I just paste it here.

[coreyjw34]

The turtles were not at my house for the past few years, they were at my dads so i only had short times to take care of them fully,no one at the house was able to fully be involved with them.

i now have them at my home so i can care for them daily. i want to fix these issues as soon as possible

[Kansasslider]

The pitting looks like shell rot but I will let someone else like Steve chime in on that.

[coreyjw34]

okay thank you.

i used a little neosporin on it the other day, just until i can get what i need to treat it

[steve]

Hard to tell if it is shell rot or just some pitting. The shell, overall, looks very very good. Is it sensitive to the turtle? Is the area soft? The discoloration is unusual, I'm not sure what to make of it yet.

[coreyjw34]

Thats why i was confused by it, in most of the shell rot images ive seen there is raw flesh and or blood, these are pits and seem to be different.

the left most side of her belly in the first image was a much darker shade, however i used a toothbrush to try to clean it and alot of it did come off.

part of their previous basking area was one of those floating foam docks so her shell may not have been becoming fully dry.

[Kansasslider]

I know this sound gross but does the pitted area smell bad? If so its shell rot.

[coreyjw34]

No not at all, which im glad for. I have never noticed any gross smell from them (other than poop)