General Care Discussion :: Turtle Shell

[Scribble]

I recently found out these little red spots on my turtle's plastron. I thought they might be injuries from the turtle moving from and to the rock or when she tries to get out of her aquarium which usually results in her sliding down the side.
Anybody know what they are and what I can do about them?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/27lrudflefft6 ... 2.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z0vn4nef307k1 ... 9.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/tlnnvbi7loa8x ... 2.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iynvr7hnyof9i ... 7.jpg?dl=0

[steve]

Are they actually small breaches in the outer scute layer? Usually it's normal, but the surrounding pink color makes me think you are onto something. I would also expect to see more of them, so this is a bit mysterious. Can you post a picture of her tank?

[Scribble]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ttvdujquvo5sv ... 3.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/clm2u56fsngb6 ... 9.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/zcaszo1sgo461 ... 3.jpg?dl=0

I do realise that my turtle aquarium is not in an optimal condition and I will look at the many topics this site has to offer about general care.

[Jeremiah]

Fortunately, whatever it is it's small. You can probably arrest it with a few days of dry-docking.

[Scribble]

https://www.dropbox.com/s/mchlxufv4rich ... 7.jpg?dl=0

Ok so this is the current state of the turtle's plastron. I suspect that all the white things on it is just residue from the water, I was able to rub some of it off but that white stain on the second block from the bottom would not go out, I did rub rather gently though.

Any ideas, do you think it's getting better?

[steve]

It looks much better, but I would gently clean those areas with pits just to make sure there is no debris collected in there. And I stress gently incase it's new growth or tissue propagation (not sure what the correct medical term would be).

[Scribble]

Ok, so here are the most recent pictures:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/ixiaqzzsafgrz ... 8.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1mhcc97qnu9np ... 4.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/l7swgqanp0ei3 ... 2.jpg?dl=0

Also my turtle is peeling her skin a lot, and I am pretty sure that she puked her food(And ate it again) a little while ago. Is this normal?

[Jeremiah]

Your turtle may have just eaten too fast the first time around--that's one of the more common reasons for regurgitating their food.

By "peeling skin", do you mean the actual skin around her neck and legs, or the scutes on the shell? If it's the latter, you can use Hikari Wheat Germ pellets to speed up the process, which should also help with the recovery process. What kind of dry-docking routine and/or medicines are you using?

[Scribble]

She did eat them rather fast.

I meant the skin, not the scutes. She scratches and sometimes it seems like it's itchy so she gets annoyed too.
Could it be that she is basking too much?
Some days she'll scarcely go into the water and just lay under the heat all day long.

[steve]

For excessive skin shedding, re-check the water temperatures.

[Scribble]

Ok so here's an update.
The breaches have healed, and I still have no idea how they came to be
Any ideas?

https://www.dropbox.com/s/iu2l4hhc7cw51 ... 8.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/x8g7hghz6hggk ... 7.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/t396pw8g16uhm ... 1.jpg?dl=0

Does it look good?
Should I do anything further?

[steve]

Looks much better than the originals. I'd just make sure he water is extra clean and there is nothing too abrasive in her tank.

[Peva]

Don't worry about the regurgitation. Sometimes I feed Brixie huge hoppers and after trying to eat it, she realizes it's too large and spits it out, only to eat it again shortly.

[Scribble]

Hey Guys,

didn't want to post in a new thread, but just a quick question.

My turtle seems to have jumped from her enclosure (It's not very high), afterwards I inspected her plastron and it looked like it was shedding

https://www.dropbox.com/s/7o490e8es7gif ... 6.jpg?dl=0

https://www.dropbox.com/s/pqtsuutemh6on ... 1.jpg?dl=0

Is this a normal thing or should I be worried?

[steve]

That's normal.