Urgent Care :: Worried About Nemo's Shell

[BabyNemo]

I recently noticed something on Nemo's shell
How big is your turtle? 1.5inches
How long have you had it? a few months

What is the water temperature? 79.8F
Did you use a thermometer? Yes, two
Are you using a water heater? Yes, two.
How much water is in there? 54 gallons in a 55 gallon tank.
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes.
Are you using any filtration? Yes.

What is the basking temperature? 86F
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes, a new ATBA.
What kind is it or what is it made out of? egg crate, soft mesh.
Is there a UVB light? Yes.

What have you been trying to feed it? Repimin Baby
When was the last time your turtle ate? This afternoon.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 4ft long by about 2ft tall, 1.5 Feet deep

Is the tank near a window? Yes.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? No, my bedroom.

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?No


THis is his shell, I just saw it today ad I was wondering If he is starting to shed, or if it's some kind of fungus. It's a goldish ring around the top of his shell.

[Linus]

The pictures are so small so it's hard to tell. But it looks like the shell is deformed.

[BabyNemo]

The pictures are so small so it's hard to tell. But it looks like the shell is deformed.

Is there anything I should do about it?
I was thinking about getting him into a vet for a checkup asap.
That shell condition showed up over night.
And sorry for the small pictures, it's hard to get good pictures of him. He's aslways moving

[steve]

Could you try again? I can't tell much from those pictures.

[BabyNemo]

Could you try again? I can't tell much from those pictures.

Maybe I'm just paranoid?

[steve]

I'm not sure I see anything wrong in the pics. Is this the part you're talking about?

[BabyNemo]

I'm not sure I see anything wrong in the pics. Is this the part you're talking about?

I'm not sure what that is either, but what about the ring around his shell?
Is that normal?
I feel like it wasn't there before and that it just popped up over night.
The white has always been there but I think we talked about it in my first thread and agreed it was just from him scraping against something in the wild.

[steve]

They yellowish ring around the marginals? That's normal for hatchlings.

[BabyNemo]

They yellowish ring around the marginals? That's normal for hatchlings.

Yes, that.
So I'm just not very observant and it's been there the whole time?
If so, that's a huge relief.
Thanks Steve.

[steve]

I think it's just more visible now that he's growing and his shell is becoming darker.

[BabyNemo]

I think it's just more visible now that he's growing and his shell is becoming darker.

Well, that is a major relief. What should I be looking out for in terms of fungus, shedding, sores, immediate warning signs?

[Linus]

I still can't tell but the top of the shell looks to be disfigured.

From what I can tell, this is what the shell looks like:



When it should look like this:


Am I seeing something that's not there, or am I right?

[BabyNemo]

Let me go grab him real quick and look....
Okay, I just looked at him and he does have the three separate areas right where you circled red, but they are VERY uneven, like they aren't shaped how they're supposed to? Also, it looks like each individual section, towards his hind legs, flips up, sort of like it's flaking. Is that normal?

[steve]

What do you mean flips up?

[BabyNemo]

What do you mean flips up?

Like, I can take my finger nail and put it inbetween the sections.
Sort of like.. when you have paint, and it starts to 'chip' off, a section comes up.
I don't know how to explain it.