Hello, I'm new here and I'm so glad I found this website! I've been trying to find a good website for turtle care for a long time, this is awesome! Here's my question: I went through the old posts and tried to find my answer but I was hoping someone could clarify for me. I have a relatively young (I think he's a little over 3 years old) painted turtle. I noticed in the last week that he's got this white stuff on his shell. I read about shell rot but I don't know if this is what he has. It's not very broad and his shell doesn't seem to be soft where it is or anything. I can take a picture of it later if it would help. Does this sound like shell rot? What causes it? How do I fix it? Thanks so much for any replies!
It could be. The shell doesn't need to be completely compromised for that to happen, all it takes is a little scratch to allow bacteria or fungus to grow. Best way to fix it - take your turtle to a vet. Do not use any of the shell products you see in stores, like vitashell. These do more harm than good. You will need to keep everything very clean. Good luck, if you catch it early you shouldn't have too many problems getting rid of it -and hopefully keeping it from becoming like the pictures/descriptions of bad shell rot you've found so far.
I found this: http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/shellrot.html would you recommend following these steps? Thanks so much for your help!
Step 1 - yes, and you should have already been keeping the aquarium clean. If you have been very good about that then consider a vet visit as shell rot usually doesn't just suddenly happen for no reason. There could be a possible deficiency. Step 2 - Don't know about that one... scraping could damage the shell more. Be very careful and if the surrounding area is soft - leave it to the vet. Step 3 - yes, get the chlorhexidine. You may have to get this from a vet or online, if you're lucky a farm supply store may have it. In general, I'm suggesting a vet in case there's anything else wrong that you may not have noticed or can treat yourself.
