General Care Discussion :: RES won't dock, now has fungus

[abohnaroo]

I adopted a 3-4 year old male RES about two months ago. He used to bask on his platform all the time, but I recently got a much more efficient water heater and now he won't bask at all. He developed a white fungus about a week ago that we're treating with salt baths. I know these problems are husbandry related, and I'm looking for some help. He's in a 100 gallon tank- filled about 2/3rds of the way. I have two heat lamps and a UV lamp pointed directly at his dry dock. The water temp is between 78-80 degrees. Should I turn the water temp down? Get him a bigger dock? More light? Thanks in advance for your help!

The vet recommended the salt baths and manually dry docking him for about an hour per day until the fungus resolves. He didn't have any recommendations about getting him to bask on his own again though.

[steve]

You can drop the temps a bit... around 75 is fine. Are the baths helping? What's the basking temps? What kind of lights are you using?

[abohnaroo]

I dropped the water temp like you suggested. The baths are helping tremendously, but I still have some fungus in the tank. I'm buying another filter and doing partial water changes about every 2-3 days. I don't have an air thermometer in his basking area, but I think the basking temp is at least 10 degrees warmer than the water. I moved his filter further away from the ramp to the basking area this morning- my thinking was that maybe he feels the area is too crowded. The lights are what the exotic pet store recommended- I can check to tell you the exact kind when I get home. I changed out the bulbs when I got him because the pet store told me they should be changed every 6-8 months. Thanks!!

[steve]

Is this skin fungus? There really shouldn't be any fungus in the tank, do you have any pictures of these things?

[abohnaroo]

I don't have a picture and the fungus is pretty much gone. It wasn't growing on or in the tank- just kind of left over from what was coming off of him. I just ordered a canister filter to hopefully help with this kind of stuff. I got the one recommended on this website. My turtle still won't bask, but I guess I'll just give him some time. I also got a larger basking platform, but I haven't had time to put it in his tank yet this week. If you have any other recommendations, I'd love to hear them. Thanks!

[steve]

Can you post a picture of the basking area? Steep ramps and lack of privacy are usual basking area mistakes.

[kortneyerin]

Is the fungus on his skin or shell? I didn't see it mentioned specifically. I'm still dealing with a skin fungus on my little guy and it's been a month. Are salts used for skin fungus? I've been using a Betadine & water solution and now I've started an anti fungal cream and it's not getting better at all. I think it's probably a lot worse than I thought. This past week I've been keeping him drier longer than I was and I can see it on the surface of the water everyday. It's like flakes off it coming off. It's really stressing me out. Hi other than the fungus he's still his normal, healthy self and basking as usual. Wth is going on with him?

[steve]

Salt can help, and there used to be product out there called a Sulfa Dip. There are also a few fish medications that can be added to the water (like Maroxy) for treatment. Are you sure he's not just heavily shedding?