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Hello, I have this turtle since elementary school. My father bought her (?) and her brother (her brother sadly died because she killed him). Sadly my father is one of the people who think turtle is an easy pet and they don't grow big. In my country, there's a lack of education here about animals. I finally taken notice what I've been doing wrong since she had an eye infection when I'm starting college, fortunately I managed to heal her. But I finally set her a proper setup last week after I managed to have time, money, and permission from my mother, also I postponed this for about a year due to my declining health issue because no one in home want to take care of her and I'm not capable to do that because of my health.

I noticed she had a shell rot in her belly when I was brushing her. I touched the area and it's soft. I started to clean her, put betadine, and drydocking her. Day 2 it's already hard again (today is day 3) but I still continue the treatment. I noticed that something is strange when she's dry because the skin in her belly kinda like peeling? But it's a weird shape of peeling. I'm confused if it's a shell rot or shedding or fungus.

How big is your turtle? around 7 inch
How long have you had it? around 11 years

What is the water temperature? 28 C/82 F (it's hot here)
Did you use a thermometer? yes
Are you using a water heater? no (because it's already hot)
How much water is in there? around 120 lt to 150 lt (I know it's small but I have no money and space to buy a bigger tank)
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? -
Is there a basking light? -
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? I'm planning to making her a basking area next month
What kind is it or what is it made out of? I'm planning using an egg crate and pvc
Is there a UVB light? yes (when drydocking her, I turn on the UVB light)

What have you been trying to feed it? a mix of lettuce, pellets, and cuttlebone powder
When was the last time your turtle ate? yesterday

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 150 lt
Is the tank near a window? yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? no

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes, but still not sure

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? no


she started to have brown shell instead greenish shell since she moved to a new setup, it seems she become more healthy


this is when the sun is really bright




one of her shell rot


what I'm concerned about

Also is it a she or a he? I'm pretty sure it's a female but she never laid eggs so I'm concerned about her....
Sorry for my bad english

The first problem is there are too many retained scutes. You can delicately remove some, but you need to do that and clean up the shell a bit. Retained scutes cause other problems, primarily infections on the scutes and seams below it (by trapping water and crud).

I see. She's starting to shed but it's just a little bit of peeling. I guess I will focus to help her shedding first.

You might need a second pair of hands to help hold her, and you might be peed on if you hold her too long (and scratched/bitten). Are the scutes lifting up?

It seems my reply went missing. Anyway, her scutes some become loose, the most being about 20% loose, some still intact. But her scutes become more brown, not much difference but still noticeable a little bit. I guess it's the result of brushing her scutes everyday and drydocking her. I've also ordered Hikari Wheat Germ and made jello shots but this time from this forum recipe for turtle shedding inccorectly.

My question is, her shell rot no longer soft but there's some pink color there. Should I continue the treatment with betadine until it goes away?

A lot of the retained scutes might be hiding what's going on underneath. They are loose nut not coming off and trap water/debris which can be a breeding ground for infections. Can you post updated pictures of any problem areas?

My turtles have been shedding their scutes since what seems like forever. The sheddings are dark green in color and are film like in appearance. I am concerned if the excessive scute shedding is the cause for an underlying infection of some sort.Please help!!!!

Can you post pictures? Scute shedding is rarely excessive.

Hello, I'm sorry for replying late. Here's the update for her shell rot.

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As you can seem there's a little bit pink spot but it's still hard.

Not sure if that pink area indicates shell rot, have you noticed it change color/shape?

no, not really other than the day I noticed that area become soft. After I drydocking her and put betadine, that area become hard again in day 2. Also there's a little shedding yesterday I checked in that area

Pretty unusual for it to change hardness. I would consider veterinary help for that, it really shouldn’t happen.

Hello, sorry for not replying I've been busy for this past week. It's hard to find a decent vet here, especially one that specialised for turtle. I managed to find one near my house and he's really famous! Unfortunately he's only there once a week and it's on Thursday and I'm working on that day. Maybe I will bring her to vet when I managed to take a day off, but unfortunately it won't happen in near future....so many deadlines.....

The good thing is her scutes finally lifting up! There's one about 60% detached

Alright, good luck!

Update: today I bought her java moss, when I finally checked on her she's not greeting me. Usually she does if she heard a noise she will wake up. I'm not too bothered by this but when I finally put java moss.....I noticed she's not moving at all and her eyes are half open. Immediately get her out of water but so far....no response. I think she's dead. Gonna check it again tomorrow morning but kinda sure she's dead because she never hibernates and I'm in tropical country.

I just feed her this morning before I go to work and she seems fine, active as usual.....

Update 2: she unfortunately passed away, her odor start to smell like dead fish