Urgent Care :: confused about shell rot and cat probelem..

[airgetsthinner]

How big is your turtle? 1x1's
How long have you had it? 4 months

What is the water temperature? not sure, but not too warm
Are you using a water heater? no
How much water is in there? about an inch and a half
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? no

What is the basking temperature? very warm
Is there a basking light? 100 watt bulb
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? basking rock made for turtles and a hand sized flat rock
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? brine shrimp romaine
When was the last time your turtle ate? right now

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 15 gallons
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? somewhat

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? yes


my turtles bill and ted are little babys. ted has been growing a lot faster than bill but ive never seen this happen to him before, when hes under water, hes outlined gray, and when he is dry, he is outlined in white. when i touch the mystery gunk, its soft. i smelt around for somthign out of the ordinary but i fed them shrimp and guppies for treats this week so it smells like fish, i figure ill wait the smelling out. me and my dad figure he might be shedding but then i noticed the back of his shell by his tail is soft like a fingernail. i began to get worried. then i noticed black spots, about the size of a pin h ead, on his shell. now im three times as worried. im not sure if hes ready to shed or if he has shell rot. i planned to take them to a herpavet but then lost my job. the problem with my other smaller turtle bill, one day i came home to find my bedroom door wide open and my cat with her paws in the tank. i thouroughly inspected both turtles and found no problems but a little scare. a week later 2 black spots that look like teeth marks showed up on bills top shell. i dont know what i shoudl do if to just leave it be to heal? or if theres soem sort of turtle safe peroxide to help with their shells? ive been using a turtle shell lotion once a week no improvement, and a turtle tank water nutralizer with soft shell preventer ever since ive had them but its the same problem, any advice is appreciated.

[cam722]

I've read before that the turtle shell conditioner actually does more damage than good and have seen pictures of how a shell was deformed from the use of it. I'm not sure what the other things you ar talking about are.. the neutralizer with shell preventer?? Who is the manufacturer? It seems to me though that the basking light is too hot for your size tank. I used a 100watt bulb about 10" away in a 75gallon tank. You should invest in an inexpensive digital thermometer and check both the water and basking temps. Those are very important for healthy turtles.

I live in PA.. so I know that the temperatures this time of year definitely require the use of a water heater. If their water is too cold it can cause them to have RI and can lead to death.

For the "bite" marks. As long as it didn't puncture the shell and cause bleeding I'd not worry about it. You may want to wipe it off with a betadine solution just to be safe. I'm sure someone else will come along with some added comments

[airgetsthinner]

the manufactuer is tetra, they make other supplies for reptiles that ive used for my bearded dragons, but i suppose i shoudl research it. yeah unfortuneatley in my town there isnt many pet stores so i have to use what they have or get a bulb from home depot for gardening, but i set up the tank in a way that the light wasnt closer to it than a foot and its mostly on the water im waiting for them to get a little bit older to go bigger they are still so small. thank you for your help.

[cam722]

You do realize you can use a regular household bulb to heat their basking area right?? Those are rather inexpensive.

The one thing I'd do ASAP is get a water heater and a thermometer. You can always order things online.. they are much less expensive even with s/h than what you can buy in a local pet store.

[airgetsthinner]

i used one for a little while then switched so the water would be warm too, ill try to purchase a water heater online

[CountryGirl68]

If you have a cat, make sure you have something covering the top of the tank so the cat can't get in or bother the turtles. Chicken or mesh wire work well, just make sure the holes are 1/2 wide.

[marisa]

Can you post a picture of the turtle's shell dry, showing the areas you're concerned about?

What brand UVB light are your using?

If you're only feeding your turtles brine shrimp and romaine lettuce, this is not a balanced diet. For starters, get some Reptomin Baby (or similar pellet made for hatchlings) to give your turtles more of the nutrients they need.

[airgetsthinner]

i finally figured out how to upload pictures from my camcorder so here are pictures of the turtles' shells.

both turtles, ted(bigger,darker)on left bill on right


ted


ted closer

on the top left part of ted's shell you can see the big lack spots, youll have to really look at it


this is the bite mark on bill's shell you cant miss them theyre the 2 black dots.


pleas tell me what you think.

[Jayqualin]

Smell the black spots. Does it smell bad?

[marisa]

Have the shells looked like this when you got them? Their shells don't look healthy, which is most likely a reflection of their diet and habitat.

They need:
1. More water
2. A submersible water heater
3. A thermometer or two (to check the water and basking area temp)
4. A filter (rated for 3X the size of the tank)
5. A much better diet as noted above (and more calcium in it)

You said they have a UVB light--what brand and when did you replace it last?

Do some reading on the basics of a good habitat. You cannot expect your turtles' shells to be healthy without a good habitat and diet. You can, however, expect shell/health problems...

[airgetsthinner]

no the spots do not smell. the water is 4 inches from the top, i feed them a whole bunch of different things like shrimp, guppies, lettuce, reptomin. i cant remeber the brand of lightbulb it is i misplaced the box. i think its exo-tera sunglo, 100 watts. they eat like champions, i clean the tank every 3 days, i wash THEM almost everyday, i dont understand what is wrong here, and i read all the basic care info when i first got them, i wouldnt ask for help if i didnt read any care instructions or try to solve the problem on my own in the first place.

[mkoby]

That bulb isn't uvb. Add a uvb bulb and maybe a calcium suppliment.

[marisa]

The Sunglo doesn't produce UVB---they need a UVB light and a better diet.

You said above that there was "about an inch and a half" of water in the tank. How can it be 4 inches from the top?

When you "wash" them, what are you washing them with? Why are you doing this daily?

[airgetsthinner]

do you tihkn gardening lights have uvb in it i can just get that at homedepot. "i feed them a whole bunch of different things like shrimp, guppies, lettuce, reptomin." what other things are there to feed them besides fruit, they wont eat the fruit. "You said above that there was "about an inch and a half" of water in the tank. How can it be 4 inches from the top?" i answerd the questions with an at this moment answer, its not that shallow all the time they were in the feeding tank. and i just wash them with water when i take them out just to get all the speckles of food and poo off them, im not scrubbing them i just rinse them and wipe them with my finger, i think they like it.

[flutterby]

If you're talking about the ones like they use for greenhouses, then I highly doubt they have UVB in them.