Urgent Care :: yellow spot on shell HELP!!

[swlin]

Hi my turtle has had one big yellow spot on his shell for 1 month. But since last week, yellow spots appeared in almost everywhere on the shell. What I can do?

Here is the questionnaire and answers
How big is your turtle? 1 to 1.5 inch
How long have you had it? 3 months, my friend had it for a couple of months too. He gave it to me.

What is the water temperature? I set it to 79F/26C. I don't know the temp since i just got a thermometre today.
Did you use a thermometer? i just got it today
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 20 gal tank, 5/6 full
Are you using a water conditioner? no
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? i don't know
Is there a basking light? yes, both heater and UVB. (no UVA though)
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? those regular ones bought from pet store.
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? yes
When was the last time your turtle ate? this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 20 Gal
Is the tank near a window? yes
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? Not that I know of.

I have to say that I just set up the tank a month ago. But that's when my turtle has one yellow spot.

I have pictures, but I don't know how to post them. Please help!!

[octpusgirl8]

Here are some instructions for posting a picture:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1811
Are the spots kind of golden colored? Are they more visible when the turtle in under water? It could be that he's getting ready to shed his scutes and has little air pockets under them.

[swlin]

Thank you octpusgirl8.





the spots are light yellow. They are not as visible when it's under water.
Can a turtle that young shed scutes. How often do they shed? Just curious.

[rachel16]

that looks like some kind of an infection

[marisa]

His shell looks like his living conditions and diet haven't been the best, and problems like this take time to develop. Are those areas soft at all? Is there any kind of odor to them?

Does your turtle bask at all? I'm asking because with only a UVB light (your're sure it's a UVB light?), which is flourescent and doesn't give off any real heat, the basking area couldn't be very warm. And if it's not warm enough, most turtles won't bask. Lack of basking under proper lighting will eventually cause shell problems.

[swlin]

sorry for the late reply.

There is a heat lamp and a UVB light. I am sure because it says on the light bulb and I got it from a pet store. He does bask. The shell isn't soft and I don't smell any odor. I noticed there are some black stuff in between each scutes. What could they be?

[RunninWideOpen]

Do you know what the actual UVB rating on the bulb is? 2.0? 5.0? 8.0? 10.0? If there's no rating on it, then it actually doesn't have any sufficient amount of UVB. Some of the try to trick you by saying "Full Spectrum UVA / UVB" but that's not the bulb you actually need.

What is the basking temp? It's important to measure that too. Have you noticed him basking at all? What is the water temp? You said you couldn't measure it before, but you just got a thermometer.

What is his feeding schedule like? What an how much are you feeding him?

Did your turtle have any yellow spots before you set up the tank a month ago? What was he living in before that?


Do you have hard water where you live? How often do you do water changes?

I'm not good at identifying shell conditions.....anyone think that it could be mineral deposits? Have you tried wiping at spots to see if they come off? Someone told me mineral deposits should come off wth a q-tip dipped in vinegar.

[SpotsMama]

That shell doesn't look like mineral deposits. Mineral deposits makes a white coating on the surface of the shell and should be fairly uniformly distributed. The shell looks infected. You're right that mineral deposits should come off it you rub a spot with a vinegar soaked q tip.

[marisa]

Not mineral deposits. Black stuff like dried crud? Could be from being in unclean water and the shell drying out. Does the turtle bask a fair amount?

[clock906]

Oh....this is what is happening to my turtle too (I actually just registered here to ask question about this)
I looked in many place but can't find much answer.

The "yellow" spot you see are actually a film thingy shedding off from the shell. But I think the film is quite thick compare to normal shedding. (as thick as a normal man finger nail)

Marisa:
Yes, underneath the film, there is some black (very dark green?) pasty thingy, looks almost like dirt. I used a toothpick and took out a lot of those pasty stuffs.
But there is a layer of hard black/dark green color coat that looks almost like it is eating away the normal shell; and that layer can't be scrub off.

I will upload some pic of my turtle later when I got home and take some picture.

It started out as as tiny spot 1 month ago, and so far, it has spreaded to quite a few other area on the shell. Since last week, I have been putting my turtle in sulfa dip 2 hrs per day, dry dock approx. 20 hrs (1-2 hrs session in water in between)
It seems the spread kinda stopped, but it doesn't look like the turtle shell condition is getting any better tho.

When the turtle was in his original aquarium, he rarely bask. (I have an area with a 60watt light at about 85F, water temp is 70-75. If he is not completely in the water, he usually has half is body covered with water. I very rarely see him walk completely out of water.

[marisa]

clock, I don't understand about the "filmy thing" shedding from the shell. If it looks something like a fingernail, it sounds like a scute. It started as a spot and has spread to other scutes? Could it be air getting under the scutes as they start to lift off when a turtle starts to shed?

The layer of black/dark green is in the seam (the line that goes in between the scutes)? Could it be dried algae?

[swlin]

In response to RunninWideOpen:

The UVB rating is 5.0.

My turtle bask all the time. I always see him on the dock. The only time he is in the water is when I walk close to it and it dived into the water. I keep the water temperature at 25C to 26 C. I feed him once a day with one “green stick”. I used to feed it with red lettuce leaf, but he doesn’t eat it, so I stopped. The turtle has one yellow spot before the tank was set up. He was living in the same tank with other fish with no basking area.

I live in Toronto. The water should be ok. I usually leave the tap water in a 10 gallon basket for 2 days before I do water changes, so the chlorine will evaporate.

I noticed my turtle is shedding scutes, but I don’t think those spots are of that reason.

Thanks everyone for helping out.

[Bascomb]

swlin - What about your filter/pump -- Your turtle has an infection or fungus.
Fungus is usually a little whiter. The husbandry should be reevaluated and acted on. b.