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I'm pretty good about giving my girls health checks once a week, but today, I noticed something that I don't think was there 2 days ago when I checked them. They each have 1 scute on their left side that almost looks burned or melted. One's is worse than the other's. I'll try to describe it as best I can, as I can't get pics until tuesday. There is 1 scute that looks sunken in, and there is a space between it and the neigbouring scute that is black. It's not soft and it doesn't smell, that's why I'm thinking it could be a burn. I don't have a heater in now, as the water temp stays at a steady 75 because of the weather, so the only thing that could have burned them is the basking light. Basking temp is a steady 90 degrees and there is a screen between the light and the dock. I don't know what else to say but I'm a bit worried. I use a uva/uvb combo bulb, they have a good, varied diet with a constant supply of cuttlebone. Any input is appreciated. I'm mainly wondering if this warrants a visit to the vet.

I have read on the forum not to have the screen between the
light and the basking area.
Either way I can't imagine the light doing that unless it's too close.

Do they look like they "feel" alright?

I really don't have a clue of what could've caused the problem. I don't have a screen, but as tini said, I doubt that had to do with anything of the scute. Melting sounds closest to what you are describing now, especially if the scute doesn't feel soft. If there isnt any odor, I would say there's no bacteria or fungus, although I'm not 100%

No odour, so I'm ruling out shell rot for now. The light is about 12 inches above the basking spot so I'm not sure it's a burn but that's what it looks like. They're eating normally and they're as active as ever so I guess they feel ok. They didn't struggle when I was touching the spot so I'm guessing it doesn't hurt.

btw, the screen is just temporary. I didn't have one before but Rocks got out and hurt herself so it's a safety precaution until we move in a few months.

That's right I read that about Rocks!

Yeah I doubt it is the light. You would more likely know more than I anyhow.

I haven't heard of this before. I would go to the vet just to double check. If your vet is cool there should be no charge just to look at it.

This is new since Rock's escape? Not sure what it is... is it raised or does it look like it will peel? Very stange that both have one...

If it looks like it is spreading then a vet visit should be made.

Tini, a screen that has a grid spacing of about half an inch is OK to use.

I'm afraid my screen is a standard 10 gallon screen so the spacing is very small. I don't know what else to use right now tho. I've tried chicken wire but there's no way to secure it.

It doesn't look like it will peel, it's just sunken in a bit with black stuff around it. The best way to describe it is that it looks like it melted. I'm going to call my vet in the morning and see if I can get an appointment this week. Other than that I'm not sure what to do.

get that camera ready

how long do they bask for?

They'll bask anywhere from 10 min to 2 hours at a time.

I'll pick up the camera at work tomorrow and have pics by tomorrow afternoon. Thanks for the help so far.

Here are the pics. I don't know why they turned out so crappy. I dried the shells off too but there's glare. I hope someone may be able to identify this anyway. I circled the spots. What I'm most concerned about is the black area between the scutes.

This is Pandora...she's got it a bit worse than Rocks has






And Rocks...

From the pics, it looks like the keratins are spreading apart. But it's not likely since both Pandora and Rocks have it. Are they both shedding properly? The closest one I can come up with is dysecdysis..
But either way, it would be more accurate to visit the vet

dysecdysis..

what would that be?

dysecdysis is a shell deformality, usually caused when the turtle is not shedding properly and the scutes become infected

infected eh? Good thing I made that appointment. Can't get her in til friday tho.

If it isn't bothering your turtle and there aren't much side effects, should be okay to wait til Friday

Here is a site that mentions most of diseases and infections
Anatomy & Diseases of the Shell