My turtles shell is looking weird!?

Question

my turtles shell is starting to look unhealthy. i don't think it's shell rot...but there are like streaks of gray and esp in the middle of the shell its faded and yellowing. what can i do!?

Answer 1

I recently took my RES to the vet because the areas between her scutes were white and it was bone exposed from poor conditions before I got her.  My vet told me to mix water and betadine in a container and soak her for 10 minutes everyday and "baste" the top of her shell. The water level should reach a little over halfway up their shell and then brush the rest. Add the water first and then add just a little betadine until it is a very light orange color. after she is done with the soak I have to rinse her really well and dry her off  before returning her to her enclosure. She told me to do this daily for 4-6 weeks.

This is the website I used to learn about turtles and the second link goes directly to the forum that discusses urgent care issues. Many people post pictures so you can maybe compare what your turtle looks like to theirs and see what people have suggested.

Good Luck

Answer 2

can you send us at Yahoo or me an email with pictures.

They get so many sickness..no one wants to give ya bad info.

Turtes don't over eat. Your doing fine in feeding..some helpful into, and at the bottom is a site to look up a vet ..K?

Sliders are great for decorating ponds or large tanks. I have had two for 36 yrs now plus a 8 yr old and a 5 yr old..

I have had them in a 150gal pond for about 6 yrs now..

**Here is some important and a lot of info. If he or she is small get feeder guppies or small feeder goldfish, frozen brown worms ..even meal worms.

**Red-eared sliders, Gender especially juveniles, can be difficult to s*x. Gender in adults is determined by external physical characteristics and behavior. Males have longer fore claws (which are use in courtship), a longer tail length, a longer distance from the body to the vent opening, a tail that is thicker at the base and generally a smaller body size and shell length. Turtles are considered juveniles till after 5 yrs old.

Their Home **The tank  size for small  2” re-eared slider should be a 20-gallon aquarium minimum. As a general rule, the water depth should be at least 2 times the turtle's length, with several extra inches of air space between the surface of the water to the top edge of the tank to prevent escapes. So if your turtle is 4” around  he needs at least 10 to 12” of water to swim. For ONE 4 to 5 inch long sliders, the recommended minimum enclosure surface area is 50 gal plus tank with an extra square foot for each additional turtle.

What they EAT. ****In the wild, re-eared sliders eat both fish, crickets, worms basically anything that moves and  plant sources of food. However, juveniles are mainly meat eaters but still love the greens. The  diet for the lil guys \s should consist  of a commercial aquatic turtle pellets and small feeders guppies or goldfish or minows. Hatchlings and juveniles should be fed on a daily basis. The diet can be supplemented with live fish of an appropriate size (guppies, goldfish), tubiflex worms and earthworms. Plant matter, in the form of  leafy greens or finely chopped mixed vegetables romaine and butter lettuce, can be offered once weekly.

Fill tank with approx 20 feeder guppies and or 10 to 15 small goldfish. you’ll know when to replenish the live food supply. just count what’s left and then fill it up again. Get a cuttle bone from the bird dept and drop in the water for added calcium. Hopefully they may eat it and that’s what you want. They need the calcium for shell growth and a good healthy turtle. Adults diet may consist of some commercial turtle pellets. Plus 80% of their diet is fresh alive fish to catch in their water which also gives them exercise when trying to catch to eat. Adults should be fed greens , romaine, red leaf lettuce, mustard greens, dandelion, watercress, parsley. Swiss chard, shredded carrots, shredded squash, thawed frozen mixed vegetables and miscellaneous fruits. Adults can be fed every two to three days. NO iceberg or cabbage!!

Total Body length: 5-8" average, up to 12 inches max. Life span: 15-25+ years

Males have the longer foreclaws..

Water quality and Filtration ***Sliders are voracious feeders and tend to foul the water real quickly with their messy eating habits and frequent pooping.  You need a  filter for good water quality. Partial to full water changes can be performed. Many different filter systems are available.

*** Health Problems.  If you take proper care of your red-eared slider by providing excellent housing, nutrition, lighting, and heating, it is unlikely to ever become ill or injured. However, it’s still important to familiarize yourself with ailments common to sliders so that you can quickly identify them in your own slider, should it become ill. The following are some of the most common medical problems among red-eared sliders.

“Fungal infections” are fairly common among red-eared sliders, especially younger ones. If you notice what looks like a light layer of cotton on your slider’s shell or eyes or in its mouth, this is most likely some form of fungal infection. Although their appearance can be alarming, most infections in their early stages are fully treatable at home. If a fungal infection remains untreated, however, it can spread across the entire body and cause serious harm to your turtle.

To treat a mild fungal infection, immerse your red-eared slider in a warm saltwater bath for about half an hour each day, using a soft sponge to gently scrub the infected regions. You can also treat patches of fungus with topical applications of a mild antiseptic, such as povidone-iodine. As long as the problem isn’t severe, you should notice signs of recovery within a day or two, and a full recovery in about 10–14 days.

If your turtle has a persistent fungal infection that home treatment isn’t curing, take it to the vet for treatment. Several medications are available that can address a fungal infection if it hasn’t spread too far.”

**Shell Rot. *** First make a dry box to keep the turtle in, shell rot needs water to grow.

Keep it warm and give it plenty of light. Scrub the shell gently with a toothbrush and water. Let the turtle swim for about 20 minutes a day in something other than his pond or tank that has real  clean water. 1-2 times a day take a cotton ball apply Hydrogen Peroxide to it then to his shell. It'll start bubbling which means its cleaning it. it. DO NOT get it in his eyes. Then clean the shell and apply providone-iodine solution to the shell, coat the shell and don't clean it off until he is ready to swim the next day.** Keep this up for several weeks and it should go away. . MOST important !!! TOSS in a bird cuttle bone in the water for calcium. it will dissolve real slow and if they eat it that’s fine!!

Respiratory Infections *****Sliders, cooter, map, painted, yellow bellied and other aquatic species are susceptible to respiratory infections. Many respiratory infections that can affect sliders are mild and easily treatable in their EARLY  stages, but there are also some particularly virulent infections that can kill a turtle very quickly without veterinary attention. Sliders usually develop respiratory infections when their tank is too cold. **Symptoms of an infection include a runny nose, wheezing, lopsided swimming (an ailing lung changes the turtle’s buoyancy), lethargy, and a refusal to eat. If you identify the illness in its early stages, you may be able to treat it by removing the sick slider from its quarters into a new, clean tank (especially if you keep multiple sliders, since the majority of respiratory infections are contagious) and keeping it a few degrees warmer than normal. Warmth is the most crucial factor in treating respiratory infections in the home. If the condition persists for more than a few days or worsens, bring your slider to your veterinarian, who will treat the infection with antibiotics.”

***Contact the “herpetologicalsocieties.com, for a turtle vet in your city and state.

Answer 3

Take it to the vet.

Answer 4

if it's an adult, your over feeding it.

Answer 5

I am not sure if it's shell rot or not, I'd take it to a qualified herp vet.  They may suggest dry docking your tutle till the rot heals up (if that's what it is in the first place).  Dry docking is when you keep it out of the water, only letting it in to feed.

Could it be shedding, turtles do shed their shell scales (called scutes) and well as the skin on their body.

If you can link us to a pic we might be able to help more.  (I am new to Yahoo answers so am unsure if that is allowd)

Answer 6

This sounds like a vitamin deficiency.  more calcium and vitamin a could improve this.  

also because this is a small turtle their shell colors usually change anyway.  i have also heard of a shell fading due to stress.  you could also try the following-

i would see if this could be a fungus.  petsmart sells a good soak that you could try.  

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

I would also start feeding him more calcium rich foods or get a calcium supplement for shell health.  also up his vitamin a level.

Heres another shell conditioner-

http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.js...

If none of this works i would check with your local vet just to be safe.