Page 1 of 2

Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Sat Feb 27, 2016 11:09 pm
by prowler-purple
There is a dark marking on her plastron under her left front foot. It's under the surface and won't scrape off. I just noticed it an hour ago. I don't know what it is. Does anyone have any ideas? I can see a vet early in the week.

How big is your turtle? 9" shell, 8.5 lb, I think
How long have you had it? 8 years. may be 10+

What is the water temperature? room temp. 78-80F
Did you use a thermometer? no
Are you using a water heater? no
How much water is in there? 34 Gallons of water in a 120 Gal aquarium
Are you using a water conditioner? Melafix
Are you using any filtration? in tank simple filter.

What is the basking temperature?
Is there a basking light? Powersun 100W
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yup
What kind is it or what is it made out of? resin
Is there a UVB light? Powersun 100W

What have you been trying to feed it? Sun dried anchovies, Tetrafauna Reptotreat Gammarus, Zoo Med Krill, and cooked salmon
When was the last time your turtle ate? today

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 48" x18" She stays in the tank during most of the day and roams around the apartment in the evening
Is the tank near a window? yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? she's in front of the kitchen and box turtle habitat

Have you read the Basic Care section? no
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? simple web search

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? She layed an undeveloped egg a week and a half ago. and dug another nest today and quit.

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 2:45 am
by steve
I'm not sure if it's something to worry about yet. It might be due to iron... do you see it any where else?

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 10:44 am
by prowler-purple
No, that's the only spot. Do you mean too much iron?

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Sun Feb 28, 2016 7:18 pm
by steve
It might be an environmental issue, not sure. Is it possible that it's dark red?

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 12:32 am
by prowler-purple
no. it's black. It's under the surface of the keratin. I'll look again tomorrow to see if there is more color in it.

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 3:54 am
by steve
Any of the scutes there flaking?

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 1:28 pm
by prowler-purple
They just flaked off a few weeks ago.

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 2:37 pm
by steve
Are they completely off, maybe some remnants there?

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Mon Feb 29, 2016 6:30 pm
by prowler-purple
Why is it interesting? Do you want some pics of the flakes?

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Tue Mar 01, 2016 2:59 pm
by prowler-purple
Here is a photo of part of a skate flake still attached. The whitish spots are recent within the past few weeks.

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 11:01 am
by steve
Are the white spots under the shell? Is there a noticeable pit?

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Wed Mar 02, 2016 8:28 pm
by prowler-purple
She made one of these eggs this morning in the tank. More eggs to come I think. She made some much smaller underdeveloped egg things last week.

The top photo shows the white spots with small pitting.

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Thu Mar 03, 2016 5:09 pm
by steve
If it's actual pitting, you need to keep a close eye on it to make sure it's not a shell breach (the white would be a little exposed bone.)

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Fri Mar 04, 2016 2:59 pm
by prowler-purple
A shell breach? I think the top layer keratin is eroded. Yes, there is some pitting. When I peeled off the top layer keratin flakes a few weeks ago it was already like that. What I peeled off didn't have the pits in it. The white spots aren't exposed bone. Just translucent keratin.

Re: Dark spot on plastron

PostPosted: Sat Mar 05, 2016 5:35 am
by unclejoe
Thanx for showing the egg, since you say its underdeveloped, does that mean it would be whiter in color if it was developed?