Urgent Care :: what are white spots all over RES body?

[compas]

hello, this afternoon i realised few white spots all over my RES body. 1 on the back of his head, 1 above his eye, 2 on his front feet and one on his tail...i know it's not ear abcess, could it be fungus?

as far as i know, fungus develope on the shell and not the body, am i right? could it be alergic reaction? because the night before i saw the inside-glass of the tank was misty for the reason i don't understand. i cleaned the mist with tissue before i went to bed and i thought it was normal, but in the morning it happened again...then i took my poor compas out of there as soon as possible

could anyone guess why it happened?


How big is your turtle? 1 inch
How long have you had it? 8 days

What is the water temperature? 75 F
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? no
How much water is in there? about 12 inches
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 76
Is there a basking light? not yet...still searching
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? made from cloroplast and plastic carpet

Is there a UVB light? not yet, but i put him under sunlight 15 minutes a day

What have you been trying to feed it? pellets only up to now
When was the last time your turtle ate? this morning, but he just ate 1 over 5 pellets i gave him

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? about 20 gallons
Is the tank near a window? yes, but the window is not expose by sunlight directly
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? quite a lot, yes

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? no...he seems fine.but i'm worried

[Vtolds]

One could guess the mist is condensation. You really need a tank heater and the water should be at least 78 degrees and if there is a problem with your res then you should boost it too 80 degrees. You really need to get a basking lamp, it can be any normal 75 watt house bulb place some how over the basking area so your RES can dry off completely. You need to find a UVB bulb, 15 minutes of sun a day isn't really enough to be healthy.

[octpusgirl8]

Turtles need to spend a total of about 5 hours a week in the sun to absorb enough UVB, so Vtolds is right, 15 minutes a day isn't enough. Better than nothing for sure, but not enough. Definitely look into improving the basking situation. Skin fungus can be caused by insufficient basking as well as poor water conditions. You need to figure out a way to raise the basking temperature to 85-90 degrees. Is it possible for you to post a picture?

[compas]

i've tried to take a picture but he's too litle and always moving around

today is monday and this friday i will take him to vet (because the reptile vet only available on friday)

for the time being i put him in a quarantine tank under my table lamp for couple of hours with shalow water (as high as his carapase) with a bunch of river stone to bask...the temperature is higher that way

is there anything else i can do?

i'm still searching for the UVB bulb...wish me luck

and what do i need to prepare before visiting the vet?
should i bring him in a carrier with shallow water or will it be better without water but keep him moistened by giving him few drops of water constantly??

[octpusgirl8]

That's good that he's always moving around, it means that he's not too sick yet. I'm not sure what you can do for him until the vet visit, but make sure you keep a close eye on the water/air temps in his temporary home, you don't want him to overheat. As for transporting, put him in a small box with a damp cloth on the bottom and some air holes. I'm assuming there's no danger of him getting chilly since you live in a tropical area. Can you order a UVB bulb online?

[SpotsMama]

Hi,

There are many different types of fungus infections. Some affect the shell, some the skin. They are brought about by water that isn't clean enough and the turtle not being able to dry out enough by basking frequently. In the case of white patches on the skin, at the bottom of this post I copied a treatment description. This treatment recommendation is from a good source (Austin's Turtle Page). However, the best medication (Silvadene) is only available from a vet (in the U.S. anyway - maybe different where you are) so you still need to take compas to a vet.. Silvadene is also known as silver sulferdiazine or SSD cream.

One of the main reasons to take your turtle to a vet is to get a good diagnosis. A vet may see things that you don't and understand better what's really going on. Maybe what looks like skin fungus to you will look like something else to a good vet.

On the shallow water - the general rule is to either keep the water deep or else very shallow. In moderately shallow water, if a turtle happens to flip over on his back, he may drown because he can't get traction to flip himself back over. Just be sure there's no risk of that for compas.

On transporting your turtle to see the vet, here's some guidelines. It won't hurt him to stay dry during a short trip. Don't let him get too hot though because little bitty turtles can dehydrate pretty quickly.

http://www.redearslider.com/transportation.html

Here's the treatment for skin fungus described on Austin's Turtle Page:

What/Brown Patches on the Skin

This is not an uncommon sight in some species. This is your classic skin fungus. Not taken care of, it can enter the blood stream, become septicemic, and destroy certain organs within the body.

Note: The dry-tank method has yielded the highest success rate.

Remove turtle and place in a quarantine tank. The infected areas should be cleaned. Be careful when cleaning out the injury as the infection may have gone deep. Going too deep can cause extreme pain to your turtle.

Listed below is a regimen that I have followed in treating shell and skin problems and has yielded great results. While treating, you are looking for signs of healing and this may take several days before you can actually see a difference. A good idea is to take a clear photograph before treatment and compare it to another photograph of the same area a few days or a week later.

Clean infected areas thoroughly with a strong, undiluted betadine, iodine or Nolvasan solution. Let the turtle air dry in a warm setting for about 45 minutes.

Apply a generous coating of Silvadene cream. Work into problem areas. Neosporin is also an acceptable alternative (Polysporin for those keepers in Canada).

Leave the turtle dry and warm, ensuring that you do not over-heat, for 18-21 hours each day.

The next day, gently clean the affected area with a one of the previously mentioned solutions.

Place them into fresh, clean water. Let them swim, drink and eat for approximately 1 - 1 ½ hours.

Repeat procedure from Step 1.

This treatment performed daily or twice daily, should show you improvements within a week to 10 days.

[compas]

thank God, i can find another reptile vet available for tomorrow...i'll take him tommorow...and i've found the bulb too after wandering all around the city full day...i'm exhausted...but i feel a little bit relieved now

thank you guys for your attention...

i wish compas can get well soon

[SpotsMama]

Good luck! Sounds like compas is in good hands.

[Vtolds]

What bulb did you get?

[compas]

flourescent bulb 25 watt and UVB 5.0...is it enough for my little 20 gallons tank??

i haven't put it on and try it on compas because the doctor said to keep him away from the hot temperature until he gets well

he said room temperature is enough and he also gave an amount of liquid antibiotique to be diluted with water (1milli : 1 liter of fresh water) and change his water only once a day instead of twice a day.

he also advised me to give a tip of baby vitamin on his mouth once a day

hope he get well soon...

this morning he seemed so weak and inactive before i got him to vet. it was a long-long journey (took me 2 hours to get there). we also had to wait pretty long to see the vet (there was another 4 turtle before my turn and we have to wait about 1,5 hours).
it was also raining in our way home...gosh, it really was an adventure

i'm happy now to see him start swimming actively again, just after i dilute one doze of medicine in the water


by the way...should i sterilize the tank before i use it again? just to prevent the same problem occur...

thank you all for your attention

[erinemcgreevy]

I would clean his tank before putting him back.

[marisa]

What did the vet say was wrong with him?

[compas]

he said there's plenty of possible reason that sickness occured...might be fungus due to bad quality of water (wich i doubt), could be parasite brought from another animal, could also be he was already sick when i adopt him, could also be food alergic.

so he said i should see him again after 7 days to see if he already recover or need another treatment