Urgent Care :: White spots on Lucifer's shell

[stubborncuss]

So im not sure if this is an "urgent" issue, but id like an answer imediatlly.

Lucifer has had these spots for about a month now. First they came and stopped growing within a week. they stayed small and i thought it was his scute shedding. But now the spots have grown and become more white and rough to the touch. The white stuff does not come off with my fingernail. I dont know what shell rot looks like, but maybe it is. Also, ive had the flourescent (tube) light almost 4" above the basking dock. As ive read the forums, i see it should be at least 12" above, so ive fixed that as well.

see...









whats goin on? what are they? how do i get rid of them? etc...

[turtledudee]

i remember somene saying they were normal, but im not sure. i think it is a fungus.

[marisa]

If it's just on the areas I see in the picture, it doesn't look like shell rot. The shell is noticeably rougher on the white areas? Do any of the areas look like there are little pinholes in them? It could be the start of some sort of fungus, but I can't say with any certainty from just the pic. If the areas are spreading/getting larger, you might want to have him checked by a herp vet and have the areas cultured.

What strength of UVB tube light are you using? If it's a Reptisun 5.0, it shouldn't be less than 6" from your basking turtle. Six to 8 inches is optimal. If it's a Reptisun 10.0, having it a bit farther away (like 10 inches) would be good. How long have you been using it? It should be replaced every 6-8 months.

[steve]

My turtle had something similar. I believe it was a fungal infection and it will spread unless it there is a good basking area and good water quality. If it continues, it will probably need treatment. If you have another turtle in there, it could spread.

For my RES, they have stopped spreading, and it even penetrated 1 or 2 top layers of scutes. I recently had culture tests done, but they came back as negative. That doesn't mean it wasn't an infection, but it shouldn't be a future problem.