Urgent Care :: Is this normal healing?

[LostandFound]

I have two turtles living together. Recently, the female, Lost, was best as I could diagnose, suffering from Shell rot or the beginning of it. I have been treating her with a Sulfa Dip (Zoo Med) and then the Hibiclens that was reccomended on this site. Her shell is shedding off the old stuff, but the new shell is much more yellow. Is that normal or is she lacking something to make it more green?

I also have been treating my other one just in case. He has some small white spots, but nothing really noticible yet...hopefully, all will stay well. Do I need them separate even if they look better?

I will post new pictures soon. I only have a before picture right now.


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How big is your turtle?5-6" (both about same size)
How long have you had it? 3years

What is the water temperature?79
Are you using a water heater?yes
How much water is in there? 25+ glns
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? not positive
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? pvc adn coated wire/mesh
Is there a UVB light? yes
What have you been trying to feed it? pellets, rommaine, red leaf
When was the last time your turtle ate? this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 50 Gallons
Is the tank near a window? no
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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Lost is doing a lot more basking then usual
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I would appreciate any help you can give me...

[LostandFound]

I also now have a new problem: the Hibiclens has caused her eyes to be irritated and a little puffy. Should I just wait it out until they get better or do I need to put something in them? Help!

[marisa]

I can't tell if the healing is normal without seeing some after pictures. How did you use the Hibiclens? If it were me, I wouldn't soak your turtle in it, diluted or otherwise. I'd just clean the shell with it (using a soft brush perhaps or a cloth) leave it on for a few minutes and then rinse it off well. Since it's 4% cholorhexidine, you can dilute it with water to make it 2%.

[SpotsMama]

Why don't you try some zoo med turtle Eye Drops? They are good for irritated eyes. Just follow the directions on the package.

[marisa]

Either that or just put your turtle in some clean water and let the eyes get flushed out.

[LostandFound]

I decided to stop soaking them in Hibiclens after the first use of it. That has to hurt in your eyes! I like the idea of just puting it on their shells by itself much better. Hopefully, it will do the same job. I will put a new picture on tonight after they have dried out again.

[steve]

If it has a yellow appearance, it could be water seeping under the scute that is shedding. Aside from that, if you have serious concerns then I would take them to a vet for a proper diagnosis. The last thing you want to do is try and treat something that your turtle might not have.

[MyVeryOwnRES]

Also I have learned somewhere on this forum that the eye drops will make the eyes open easier, so if you just poured the hibiclens into the water in which they swim in, i think you should change the water

[LostandFound]

Here's a current photo. She's more yellow and carmel color now than greenish. Should I be concerned about that?

[grey goose]

Welcome to the forum. You've come come to the right place......
You're pics are too small to really judge, get a Photobucket account then go to the photo gallery sticky " How to post a picture" then follow steve's instructions (works for me, I've posted dozens of pics).....
As far as environment goes, you've got two fairly big turts in too small of a tank. Plus I'm guessing that your filter is lacking also.......if your turt truly has shell rot it is not enough to just treat the symptoms, you've got to get to the source of the problem.
Once you set up at photobucket send some pics of both the top and bottom of your turt, also pics of the habitat.

[industrial_girl_2000]

The current photo looks much better than the original one you posted. Caramel/brown color looks good! The green in the "before" photo was NOT a healthy shade of green for an RES's shell.

[marisa]

To me, those greenish areas in the first pic didn't look bad. In fact, I wondered if the scutes there had recently shed...My RES, even though he's an adult, still isn't doesn't have coloring as dark as in the second pic (and he has a lot of yellow on him as well). But the darker coloring looks OK.

It would have been good to see the second pic with your turtle positioned in the same way as the first to really compare (he's facing the opposite direction)---the lighting is the same in both pics?

LostandFound, look at the warnings on the bottle of Hibiclens you have. It says (from the bottle I have) "Keep out of eyes, ears, and mouth. May cause serious and permanent eye injury if placed or kept in the eye during surgical procedures....." "If contact occurs in any of these areas, rinse with cold water right away."

Now, your turtle isn't having a surgical procedure, but you don't want to get it in your turtle's eyes. If you do, flush them with water like I suggested above. I've used Hibiclens as directed on the bottle (which I also suggested to you above) to treat a broken nail and it worked fine. Wet the area, put some one it, clean it gently and then rinse well.

[LostandFound]

Thanks for the advice. I have been flushing her eyes with water. They are much better today-no more puffy, just a little pink. She is using them fine now also. When I first used the Hibiclens, I didn't realize she would keep her head in it. She didn't do that with the Sulfa bath. Lesson learned. They don't seem to mind using it the other way.

It is good to hear that Lost isn't really that odd of a color. I think it just surprised me when it changed. My other one is still darker, as he was before. Do they change to that lighter brown/carmel color the older they get? I am new at raising water turtle's ~ learning as I go. I will try to get some better, bigger pics up as soon as I can. Probably not until tomorrow, though. We have a very busy household!

Thanks again for the help!