Urgent Care :: Shell Problem on turtle, PICTURES! updated!

[cooleststan]

It this fungus?
My girlfriend had this hatchling, she was kept in one of those death bowls for about a week, but the temperature stayed very warm (she doesnt have air conditioing)

WHen I take the hatching out and in my hands, it looks kidn of pale (or covered in white film)
is this shell rot/fungus?
Also, there is a dark patch on his/her shell. It looks like a brown pane. It seems like it is part of the shell (like the shell was damaged in a previous accident), although I am not sure if it is rot or not.

does anyone have any pictures of fungus/shell rot!
PLEASE HELP!

and will getting betadine from cvs tommorow help?

[Rickiew04]

can you post any pictures?

[SpotsMama]

Is the white film on the shell or the skin? Or both? Does the turtle smell bad? Is his shell soft or mushy? What about the dark patch - does it smell bad? Is it squishy?

Either way, this doesn't sound good. Can you post a photo of the dry shell?

[cooleststan]

ok, i took some pics, my camera sucks at close range, so it was hard to get them
you can see it best in the second picture, it is a brown spot near the back of her shell.

http://picasaweb.google.com/Shark.Snack ... 0859416370

I looked at it really closely, it looks like some water got underneath her shell, it is under the clear enamel covering of the shell. I felt it, and it has the exact same texture as the other parts of the shell. It is not softer or anything

please help!!!

[cooleststan]

umm i guess I was imagining the white stuff, I compared to my other turtle, they seem about the same. he does not smell bad

i think this may be the beginning of shell rot,, that water got trapped underneath his shell? I think if I let him bask tommorow he will be fine, hopefully.

any opinions?
thanks

[SpotsMama]

Well it's hard to see as the pictures are blurry.

What about the white film? I can't really see it in the pictures - her shell looks green and so does her skin. Does her shell or skin have a slimey feel? Anything unpleasantly smelly?

EDIT

Ok, I saw your new post.

The discolored spots may need some attention. It's normal for the top layer of scutes (sections of shell) to shed. When they get ready to shed, sometimes they get loose and water gets underneath. When you press on them lightly, water may ooze out. That's somewhat like your description but what's odd is the dark color. They shouldn't be dark. A dark colored spot is usually a sign of an injury that's healed or else it's some sort of shell infection.

[cooleststan]

the new turtle is paler, and looks skinnier. that is probably why I thought there was white stuff. I am not very worried about that though, I htink i was just imagining things. she doesnt smell, feels normal

what i am worreid about is his shell!!! please help with his shell thanks

[cooleststan]

do scutes just come off? I think that may be waht is happening, although I am not sure.
Like according to this website,
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scute

would one of the costal scutes just pop off? Or does the shell grow fromt he inside, pushing the supracaudal scutes off?

[SpotsMama]

There are different products for treating shell infection. The problem is that it's difficult to tell without better photos if there is a severe infection or not. If there is a severe infection then the turtle needs to get to a vet for treatment right away. A serious infection can break through the outer layers of the shell and cause bleeding and even, when it's quite bad, break into the body cavity and become a fatal condition.

Here's some info on treating various shell conditions:

http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

I've treated a shell problem on my turtle with something called Hibiclense - a antiseptic hand wash for people that's sold at places like Walgreen's. I mixed a 50%/50% solution of Hibiclense and water and rubbed it on Spot's shell with a soft toothbrush. I took care not to get any on his head or in his eyes. Then I rinsed thoroughly. Hibiclense is a soap so if it isn't rinsed thoroughly it will be irritating. Then, I dry-docked him over-night. I repeated this every other day for a week. I went through the whole process a couple of times.

Spot's shell had white patches on it - not dark - so his condition wasn't the same as your turtle's. If you're feeling very uncomfortable about it, you should make an appointment with a herp vet and get an expert opinion.

[SpotsMama]

I'm always about a post behind in my responses!

Yes, the top layers of the scutes just come off. They should be clear and look kind of like fingernails. they don't necessarily come off in any particular order. Sometimes for various reasons the scutes that should shed don't come off (retained scutes). They can then pile up into thick, whitish layers.

What concerns me is the dark color. I suppose a possibility is that a scute was loose and water got under it, but then the scute did not shed and bacteria began to grow in the trapped water.

[cooleststan]

"I suppose a possibility is that a scute was loose and water got under it, but then the scute did not shed and bacteria began to grow in the trapped water."

yes, I think that is exactly waht happened. how should I go about treating that?

I will try to take better pictures tommorow. I know there has to be some kind of close-up feature on my camera, I just don;t know how to use it right now, I have to find the manual.

by the way, thanks for all the help!

[megcornell]

Also what set up is the turtle in now? A good set up is important for hatchling health, especially correct water temperature and basking areas. I couldn't tell but in the pictures it looked like you were still using a small plastic container.

[cooleststan]

my setup is fine! have everything, in a big tank
i was only keeping the turtle in that little box to keep her quarantined, but then I decided the water was too cold so she might get ri
so i just threw her in with my other turtle!
please help me with my problem, not lecture me about the setup!
thanks

[DavidY]

I think she was trying to help you and not lecture you. I didn't detect any harsh tone to her post. It's best not to jump to conclusions about someone's intentions when they post (unless they're using a lot of CAPS and !!! or harsh language) as you may wind up jumping down someone's throat who was really just trying to be helpful.

There's a lot of people who do not have adequate setups and wonder why their turtles are so sick. That's why many of us try to take the opportunity to make sure the person understands the basic setup requirements. It's nothing personal, just "standard procedure" so to speak.

[marisa]

If the turtle was being kept in a small set-up, with little water and no filtration (I'm NOT talking about the tank you have the turtle in now), it's very possible that the turtle was developing a film due the bacteria building up in the water.

The pictures in this thread aren't that clear, but don't really look that bad from what I can see. There does appear to be some darkness on the left side of the shell. From what you described, the abnormal area could very well be the result of an injury. Cleaning the area with diluted betadine should help, as would using diluted Hibiclens.