Urgent Care :: Please help! White "stuff" on my turtle's neck!!

[littleking8888]

Hey everybody.

Would you please look at the following pictures and tell me what you think the white area on his neck is? Also, would you please recommend a suitable treatment for the turtle?







How big is your turtle? SCL around 5 inches.
How long have you had it? Year and a half.

What is the water temperature? 25 degrees Celsius.
Did you use a thermometer? Yes.
Are you using a water heater? Yes.
How much water is in there? Around 90 gallons.
Are you using a water conditioner? No.
Are you using any filtration? Yes.

What is the basking temperature? Around 28 degrees Celsius.lsius.
Is there a basking light? Yes.
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes.
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Zoomed.
Is there a UVB light? Yes.

What have you been trying to feed it? Reptomin pellets and green leaf lettuce.
When was the last time your turtle ate? Tonight.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 120 gallons.
Is the tank near a window? No.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? No.

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes.
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? No, not enough time.

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? A little bit inactive.

Thanks very much!

[Diamondbacks4Life]

It looks like another res bit him on his neck, best thing to do is put some neosporin on it to help it heal. Watch your res and see if there getting along. Usually your turtles if they meet the aggresive turtle they will back up quickly and try and swim away so look for that.

[littleking8888]

I have put some Neosporin on it for a couple of days now. How long will it take until the I see signs of convalescence?

[marisa]

Don't know if you're doing so, but it would be good to wash the area, at least for awhile before applying the Neosporin. That bloody area looks like it needs to be cleaned...Do you keep him out of the water for a while to let the Neosporin sink in? When one of my painteds was bitten on the neck, I used to clean it, apply Neoporin, and keep him out of the water overnight.

I can't tell you that you'll be seeing an improvement in X amount of days. But if he's returned to the tank and another RES has done that to him, you're going to see that wound opened again.

[SpotsMama]

It's also possible that the little scute at the front of the shell just behind his shell made the original injury. Is it sharp or pointed at all?

However, regardless of whether the original injury was made by a bite or by skin rubbing against the pointed scute, if he's put back with the other turtles before it's healed they will re-open it. It's just in the nature of turtles.

[littleking8888]

My father believes that it is a fungal infection. Is he right in this assumption?

[SpotsMama]

I'd say it's entirely possible.

At this point, a visit to the vet is what I'd do. If you want to try it, here is a home remedy from a well respected site, Austin's Turtle Page. The key is to check your turtle's living conditions. This sort of thing is commonly associated with dirty water. While you're at it, check diet, light and basking situation too.

Here's the home remedy. Note that the Silvadene cream (aka silver sulfadiazine or SSD cream) needs to come from a vet. It is excellent - highly recommended for this type situation. Perhaps your vet will let you have a small amount - a little goes a long way - or sell it too you.

"This is not an uncommon sight in some species. This is your classic skin fungus. Not taken care of, it can enter the blood stream, become septicemic, and destroy certain organs within the body.

Note: The dry-tank method has yielded the highest success rate.

Remove turtle and place in a quarantine tank. The infected areas should be cleaned. Be careful when cleaning out the injury as the infection may have gone deep. Going too deep can cause extreme pain to your turtle.

Listed below is a regimen that I have followed in treating shell and skin problems and has yielded great results. While treating, you are looking for signs of healing and this may take several days before you can actually see a difference. A good idea is to take a clear photograph before treatment and compare it to another photograph of the same area a few days or a week later.

Clean infected areas thoroughly with a strong, undiluted betadine, iodine or Nolvasan solution. Let the turtle air dry in a warm setting for about 45 minutes.

Apply a generous coating of Silvadene cream. Work into problem areas. Neosporin is also an acceptable alternative (Polysporin for those keepers in Canada).

Leave the turtle dry and warm, ensuring that you do not over-heat, for 18-21 hours each day.

The next day, gently clean the affected area with a one of the previously mentioned solutions.

Place them into fresh, clean water. Let them swim, drink and eat for approximately 1 - 1 ½ hours.

Repeat procedure from Step 1.

This treatment performed daily or twice daily, should show you improvements within a week to 10 days. "

[marisa]

Are there white patches on other areas of skin? If not, that reddish abraded area around the white area still looks like it could be an injury/bite to me. Treatment will help either. If, however, he's put back into the tank and there's another RES in there, he's likely to wind up with a similar condition.

[littleking8888]

Thanks for your advice. My turtle seems to be getting better in that he is more active and eats larger amounts of food. However, his white patch has now turned into a light brown clump, something like a small mound on the back of his neck. Any ideas?

[marisa]

Like a scab? The wound on one of my painted's necks went from white to a darker color, with the skin eventually returning to normal.

[littleking8888]

Yes, I think it is. My turtle's appetite, however, has worsened.

[marisa]

What do you mean his appetite has worsened? You said above that he was more active and eating more...

[littleking8888]

I retract that statement. His appetite is still really good, it's just that he has seemed to become more and more frightened when we are in his presence.. I found that out last night, as I removed the two other turtles, dumped some pellets into the tank, and left the male turtle for 15 minutes. He ate almost everything. How long will it take for the scab to come off?

[marisa]

You're still keeping all three in the tank (except for feeding)? If so, you're really courting trouble.

The scab will come off in it's own time when the underlying tissue has healed.

[littleking8888]

No. I just put him in for feeding. I'm currently dry docking the male turtle. Thanks.