Urgent Care :: Shell Rot Contagious?

[chrysnyc]

I may have missed it, but I did search around the forum and to see if I could find an answer. I need to know is shell rot contagious? I'm not 100% sure if it is shell rot, but it looks like the beginnings of it. I just recently bought a new turtle. It looks like she is a female. There are very small spots on her shell that are whitish, and when I cleaned her shell in those areas a very tiny piece of the shell came off. There is no odor. My main concern is whether it is contagious or not because I want to put in a tank with another turtle, but I don't want the other turtle to get sick. I appreciate any help thanks.

[cam722]

I'm not sure on shell rot being contagious or not, but the rule of thumb when getting a new turtle is to keep it quarintined for at least 90 days to make sure it has no contagious diseases. So I suggest regardless if its shell rot or not, to keep it separately from any of your other turtles to be on the safe side. It may have other diseases or parasites you are unaware of.

[chrysnyc]

Thank you cam722 I will definately do that. I set up a temporary tank for her with the water level low and a sufficient basking area. I'm thinking about taking her to a vet if it's not too expensive because I did notice some skin problems too that may have been the result of fighting in the pet store. I want to get a check up just to be safe though. Thank you again.

[cam722]

chrys.. here is an article on shell rot. Hopefully this will help

http://www.anapsid.org/shellrot.html

[chrysnyc]

Thanks again. I was wondering...again ...if anyone can show me a picture or direct me to a website that I can see what shell rot looks like when it first starts. I have been searching all day, and all I have found are pictures of full blown shell rot. I want to verify if I am dealing with shell rot. What I am seeing is space between the marginal scutes and the pleural scutes there is a little bit of chipping, and I can see what looks like skin. It is a very small spacing I'd say no bigger than the thickness of a finger nail. The "skin" is pinkish, but does not look irritated or discolored as far as I know. By the way she is not a baby she is about 4" or so if that matters at all.

[steve]

apparently, Carol did not appreciate my quip about shell rot: http://www.redearslider.com/index_healt ... #shell_rot

(just kidding)

most diseases that are fungal, bacterial or viral can infect another. quarantine is always a first rule when you have multiple turts.

[cam722]

Hahahaha.. you know steve, I didn't know it was there. I'm so use to having to research some things off site that I totally forgot you've redone things. I guess I have to make sure to do as I often recommend, look over the site better

I had some info from that site bookmarked for future use, guess I'll have to add some more

[steve]

I have no probs with other sites. I didn't want this site to be too comprehensive about treatments because I don't think people should become RES MDs overnight.

Please continue to share any interesting bookmarks, I've still got a lot to learn.

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

This site has a picture of what looks to be a mild case of shellrot:



From: http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/substrates.html

[chrysnyc]

Thank you StrayKingFisher. I appreciate the picture, and I will definitely check out the website. I'm still not %100 sure that my turtle has shell rot or if it is damage caused by fighting or a fall, but I do notice that the area affected is slightly softer than the rest of the shell. I'm the new owner, so I don't know her background. I have already made an appointment for a herp vet in my area for this Saturday just to be safe. I will keep you guys posted, and I will most likely post a picture when I get a chance either now or when she is healthy depending when I get to borrow a camera.

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

You're welcome, that was the picture with the least amount of shell rot I could find, good luck with your turtle, we will wait for the results from the vet.

[noodles]

I have two baby RES, Yoshi and Yumi. Yumi developed white spots on her shell when I first moved them into an aquarium. I think she got the white spots because she was a scaredy cat and spent practically all the time in the water. She never allowed her shell dry off. When basking, she would hang halfway onto the turtle dock and halfway in the water. Yoshi never had the problem. Yumi was the pretty turtle, but it looked like the white spots were slowly eating away at her shell. I went to Petco and bought the ZooMed Turtle Sulfa Dip. After a week of treatment, all the spots disappeared. It did take a little while for her colors to come back and there is one place on her shell where I can see a slight indentation where a spot had eaten away.

Since then, Yumi isn’t such a scaredy cat anymore. Now, she’s a piggy. She’ll spend hours on top of the dock basking. And, she doesn’t scurry into the water every time I walk by, except to beg for food.