General Care Discussion :: Is Bob Shedding her shell??

[birdlady]

Ok as you know, when I got Bob, she was flaking a bit in the shell. Now it appears major areas are flaking off (see pics). This is NOT flesh underneath but new shell that is looking much much better than her old shell. Is this normal? The shell underneath the flakes look much smoother and actually has a bit of color (red and yellow on the edges of the shell...can't really tell about the top of her shell though).





Holly

[da sAUCE!]

i dunno, that almost looks like shell rot to me. does the turtle smell funny?

[flutterby]

Is it possible for you to give her a once over with a soft tooth brush to see what that does then take an other pic?

[birdlady]

nope she doesn't smell...just flaking...
I can do the toothbrush idea and then take another pic.
I'll let you know tomorrow morning when I do it.

[JessicaTS]

I'm not sure if it's the lighting but the shell does look a little bit unhealthy to me. What is that blurred part?

[birdlady]

Oh...didn't even realize that blurry spot(s).
Those are on the tank walls...NOT the turtle.

[birdlady]

Ok..went back and scrubbed down Bob's shell...Boy oh Boy!! She was NOT Happy with me...never seen a turtle attempt to attack a toothbrush before..wowsie.
Weird thing...The cracks that were on her shell this morning are NOT there now. Wonder why that is? Here she is now after scrubbing and cleaning:



She has alot of "dents" on her..divets more like it. Nothing broken..no skin exposed. Are we still thinking Rot here? Don't forget she's an old turtle too (14 yrs) if that makes a difference.
Holly

[da sAUCE!]

thassa big turtle. yeah RES dont seem to like toothbrushes. r u sure it was soft bristles? Your turtles shell looks battle-hardened. I don't know what to say tho. I second the notion that it looks unhealthy.

[JessicaTS]

Age doesn't compile with the turtle's overall texture (especially your turts)
What kind of lighting do you have proped up for him? What is his diet?

[flutterby]

I'm guessing she wasn't taken care of very well by her prior owners. I feel really bad for her

[birdlady]

Ok so know that we have determined she has battle wounds...do you think it's still shell rot? None of the cracking is present anymore as was this morning in the first set of pics.
I agree with you Flutterby..don't think she recv'd the bestest of care in her years.
She seems happy and content now...has Sheldon as a friend...TONS of room to move about (100 gallon tank..who knows what she had before..but she's small for her age so it couldn't have been to spacious).
Is there anyway to restore the shine on her shell? Or is it gone forever?
I also cleaned Sheldon while I was at it this evening...he was better at the toothbrush, didn't try to attack it..and yes it was a soft bristle (kids toothbrush..like they really need 100 of them for their little mouth).
Here is a pic of Sheldon's shell:

[flutterby]

Now that I look at it, it looks like mineral deposits from hard water.

[birdlady]

Well if she lived anywhere outside of the city here, then she was probably in well water. Just 10 miles out of town is well...5 miles north up the road is well.
Could that explain it?
MY water is not hard at all. So it can't be from my water..
Should I continue to scrub her daily and see if more of the stuff comes off? I do see a bit of shiny areas on her shell. But more areas are old and scruffy looking.
I sure hope she improves over the winter before heading outside. (want her to look her best out there).
As for lighting..I have a 100 watt Floodlight as her basking light and 2-6 ft flourescents above the tank to simulate sunlight. She gets about 1 hr daily of unfiltered REAL sunlight a day as well. Their water temp is 76-78 and the basking area is 90 degrees...they are perfectly content. If I increase the water temp, they protest...so I just leave it alone.

[birdlady]

She was fed entirely on Pellets by previous owner and the humane society tried to get her to eat veggies/plants to no avail.
She had her first carrot and water hyacinth today (at least first one since i've had her)...no going back now...she's munching away on that plant.

[marisa]

I'd agree with the mineral deposits. She looks like she needed a good cleaning in the initial pics. It also looked like some of the debris was partially shed scutes that needed to come off.