Urgent Care :: Long scrape along shell?

[Shellshock]

I have a baby red ear slider (born early August of this year). It seems healthy - basks often and eats very well. This week, I noticed that it has a long white scrape-like line down its shell (from head to tail). Could this be due to shedding? Or is it a fungal infection? There is a rock in his tank that is on the side, and I have seen him try to get in between the rock and the side of the tank while chasing a minnow or trying to get to other food. Could he have struggled so hard that he scraped his own shell? Is this dangerous?

[flutterby]

Is it possible for you to post a picture so we can see its shell?

[JessicaTS]

To me it sounds like he's exposing his bone. Do you have a vet you can appoint to? Basking, eating?

[Shellshock]

He's basking and eating normally. The shell is relatively hard all the way around. I can post a picture as soon as I get a chance to take one - not too good at digital cameras.

It is a very shallow scrape. Down the middle. Do you think that could be his actual bone exposed???! Could it be just shedding?

[JessicaTS]

Do you see a yellowish to a white-ish coloring or hue where it is scraped?

[cam722]

There is a rock in his tank that is on the side, and I have seen him try to get in between the rock and the side of the tank while chasing a minnow or trying to get to other food. Could he have struggled so hard that he scraped his own shell? Is this dangerous?

I'd take the rock out of the tank just in case, and yes they can get so single minded in what they are doing that they can trap themselves or damage their shells doing just what you've described.

Can't wait to see any pics you can get.

[marisa]

There shouldn't be anything with an abrasive surface in the tank and objects should be positioned so that a turtle doesn't have to squeeze himself between them (this can be somewhat difficult to do). How deep is the scrape?

Awaiting some pics...

[Shellshock]

I tried to take some pictures two days ago, but they did not come out very clearly. I'm going to try someone else's digital camera.

I took the rock out, so now there's nothing that's hindering their path.

Will post pics soon... Thanks for all the advice so far.

[Shellshock]

Here are some pictures. There are two babies - the second one does not have the white scrape-like thing on his shell, but he does seem to have some whitish spots on the bottom of each scute going down the middle of his shell - shedding?

[soopermum62]

What is the set up like? Are they getting UVB light? Are you giving cuttlebone or a Calcium supplements?

I would guess they are trying to shed scutes, and the scutes are lifting. But I don't see any sign of problem there unless they are not getting unfiltered UVB light and/or calcium supplementation

[Shellshock]

They are getting a full-spectrum bulb about 7 inches above them. There is a mesh screen between the lamp (a conical reflector) and the tank, but the lamp is placed directly on the mesh.

No calcium supplements, but I feed them some minnows once a month (I heard they are a good source of calcium because of their bones) and put a cuttlebone in there.

Is this what turtle shells look like when they start to shed? They were born around July/August this year, so I thought it might be too early to shed.

I'm glad you think this looks ok. So no shell-rot or fungal problem, from what you can tell?

[sonyj]

Full Spectrum light doesn't necessarily mean UVB. Many full-spectrum does not contain the amount of UVB that turtles need so they are not getting any benefit from it. Unless the packaging specifically says a certain percentage UVB then it's not a UVB bulb. 7-10% is a good amount of UVB to look for when purchasing. I would find out for sure about your bulb and replace it if necessary because it is very important to your turtles health to have a good UVB bulb. Not mentioned in the above posts, but just wanting to verify, you do have a heating bulb as well above the basking area?

[Shellshock]

The light I bought was from the pet store, has a picture of a turtle on it, and says "for reptiles". Is that not enough to guarantee that it has enough UVB for turtles? Hmm... I live in Manhattan, so all of the pet stores here are smaller and don't have as much selection.

As for heating, the light I have gives off a significant amount of heat. The turtles seem to enjoy it, because they bask under it often. The pet store owner said that the light was kind of a "two in one" with UVB and heat.

[JessicaTS]

You can always check Petsmart and buy one from there.

[sonyj]

The only two in one UVB/UVA is a mercury vapor light (not recommended for tanks smaller than 50 gallons because of the heat it emits) and they are very pricey. Is this the light you have? If not, your light isn't a UVB but a UVA instead. For the health of the shell it's a must to have both a UVB and UVA light over the basking area. You can check online before buying one. The are usually cheaper this way.