HI, I have a turtle pond in my yard with 4 adult red-earred sliders, approx 4 yrs old. All of them have what I am calling, shell rot. I have had them to two vets and they have not helped, nor do they know what it is. The last test for fungus has not come in yet and it has been 2 weeks. The shell has turned a whitish color and is flaking. The limbs are not affected. If anyone can give advice it would be appreciated. The pond is kept very clean with proper filteration, etc. Thanks,
my turtle, res, has the same exact thing. Unfortunately, I can't afford a vet, but I'm taking a reptiles course so I was told by my instructor what to do. Soak them in a warm water bath with some betadine in it, enough to cover the top of the shell, and enough betadine to make the water slightly off color. Then apply some neosporin to their wounds, and wait. I have been caring for mine for weeks, and the white holes seem to be getting smaller, but it has taken a long time. The shell takes a while to regrow and remake new scutes, so be patient, it'll take a while. Did I mention it'll take a while? Bear
It kind of sounds like a mineral deposit on the shell rather than shell rot. Are there any ulcerations or open sores on the shell. Shell rot moves fast and will eat away at the shell leaving red swollen tissue. If there are holes in the shell, it's best to dry dock the turtle for about 8 hours a day. They can have water in the tub but not touching the shell rot. Apply the betadine (iodine) directly (I use a spray bottle) after it is diluted according to package instructions and let it sit. Neosporin may help also. Like airbear said, it will take a while to heal. Good Luck!
my 9 month old mississippi map, geo, has mineral deposits on his shell. this is very common in captive maps and i'm sure other north american aquatics as well. as long as there is no redness among the white flaky stuff, your turt will be fine. just keep an eye on him and if any redness, swelling, or pussing appears i'd get him in some betadine solution immediately. i'd also get some silvadine cream from the vet to put on the red areas (if he develops them). you'll need to dry-dock him for a few hours each day while the silvadine cream is on the wounds. but right now i think your turt's fine. for comparison, here's a pic of my turtle's harmless mineral deposits:
My Rio Grande RES had this fungus or mineral depostit and some times when he basked and dived in the water it appeared to be shiny. A vet suggested iodine every day on the fungus. So I did that for 3 days. Then the spot started to flake. So I picked up the turtle and took my thumb nail and lightly scraped at it, Red my Rio Grade RES didn't seem to mind it. It came right off from the scrapping so I would try that. Hey Cynthia!
Hey...I am new here....I have two red eared sliders--Myrtle and Tino... Tino I received from the couple I babysit for, they felt bad b/c they couldn't take care of him....he had stuff on his shell, looked like red/brown blobs of fungus on the bottom shell (my mom said it looks like blobs of paint) ..They had took him to the vet, who said it was his diet....this turtle has the most widespread diet i can think of--everything from veggies n fruit to guppies and minos to grasshoppers, mealworms, shrimp, bloodworms, etc, etc, all the way back to reptomin! I've been using the basking light for a good 5+ hours every day, and he goes onto the ramp and sits under it until I turn it off. But....I think he has shell rot, if not, I have no clue what it is, and none of the vets/pet stores over here know either--but the "paint blobs" on his undershell have been falling off....and i don't mean flaking...i mean, big chunks of his shell are falling off- you can see right through ...it's like, i mean i don't want to poke him and hurt him, but if i did, he'd probably die! there's NO shell...it's like looking at his insides....also, the top off his shell, every little segment is curling up, and today, 2 chunks came off....poor baby is dying and i don't know what to do!!!! I'm going to try to get some pictures on here later....maybe someone can help by seeing what it is..
Turtlvr do you have a pic? alot of mineral deposit is more of a golden color, some shell rot cases are long slow process. Go to Deb's page at www.picolio.com she has some pics of her DBT Hydra who died from Shell rot at an old age. Hers was all white, and never cracked or opened into sores. I never recomend scraping anything off of a shell, for my maps I had to rub them with a soft toothbrush to keep fungis and alge off of them. MyrtlenTino- It doesn't sound good. Shots from the vet are your only chance now and that might not be enough. Good luck.
I have had our 2 red eared sliders for about 3 months and their shells are turning white along the middle ridge and along the sides. one is worse than the other. There is no sign of redness or holes or sores or puss. I use tap water with some Chlorout per the directions. What do i need to do? Do i need to install a water filter system in my 10 gallon tank? Thank you in advance. obvious new turtle daddy.
hey turtledaddy! welcome to reptilerooms! first of all, i want to let you know (if you don't know already) that res get pretty big. males can reach over 8" long (and that's just the shell length - not including the legs and neck/head). females can get over 12" long (once again only including the shell). one adult female needs at *least* a 90 gallon tank and one adult male needs at *least* a 75 gallon. one adult female and one adult male together would need at *least* a 100 gallon tank. as for light - uv is absolutely vital to aquatic turtles. you need a completely dry basking area with a fluorescent tube-type uv bulb about a foot above it. these bulbs tend to lose the ability to put out the neccessary wavelengths pretty quickly, so they need to be changed at least every 6 months. the uv bulb should be on about 14 hours per day during the summer and about 12 hours per day during the winter. you definately need a filter. i would just get a small fluval 2 or duetto 100 or something for right now, but when you get your big adult tank(s) you'll need a much bigger one. i love the fluval 404 and/or rena filstar xp3. they are great. you can get them for much cheaper online at www.bigalsonline.com than at almost any petstore. i would also consider getting them a bigger tank soon. it doesn't have to be their huge adult tank(s), but 2 juvenile res (1-3 years old) are going to need at least a 40 gallon breeder tank to share. the filter, larger tanks, and increased uv should help the shell problems. if any redness or puss or soft spots or anything appear, get them to the vet immediately and start dry-docking them (keeping them out of the water for a few hours each day). if you have any other questions, we're here! good luck!
