General Care Discussion :: What is this?

[littlecakes]

Ichigo has been soaking too much and I'm not sure if this is because of it or not but what is this?
Is it poo? Is it skin shedding? Snot? I have yet to see her poo so I don't even know what that looks like.

[sneakyburrito]

its skin, your turtle is shedding

[littlecakes]

Great! I'm glad it was just skin and not anything else I have to worry about.

If she is spending too much time in the water, (she is sick and on anti-biotics right now, water temp around 82-84, basking 95 or so) should I attempt to drydock her for any amount of time? She is drydocked under a heating lamp once a day for about an hour when we have to take her out of the water for her injections anyway.

[Bascomb]

L-cakes -- Your temps seem a little high, unless your vet recommended it. For a recovering turtle, most of the time, I recommend about 80 for the water and 90 to 91 for the basking. Make sure the uvb is ok and feed him a little extra calcium. Good Luck

[littlecakes]

Our vet actually recommeded even higher temps for both but I lowered them a little after reading alot on this site. UVB is on during the day although I'm not sure if it is pointed in the right direction etc. It kind of just is lighting up most of her tub. I hadn't gotten her a calcium block yet since she hasn't been eating anyway but I wanted to also get some aquatic plants tomorrow so I will add that to the list. Anything that might get her to eat more than a bite of anything.

[TheComputerGremlin]

She shouldn't be in the water constantly, it can cause shell rot and excessive shedding. I think your temps are too high, even for a sick turtle. If there isn't enough of a difference between water and basking area, the turtle won't bask. Try dropping the water temp to just under 80. If she's dry docked for an hour a day, that should help prevent the shell rot, but not necessarily the excessive shedding. What's in the picture appears to be skin, although it could be a parasitic worm (from the picture, you'd be able to tell better). When she's dry, can you still see the skin? My turtle, when shedding, you couldn't find the skin when dry.

[littlecakes]

Yes I will try dropping the water temp tonight slightly to see if it will encourage her to bask as before, when I had it under 80, she was basking. I will check later when I take her out for her shots to see if it really IS skin and not (gulp) a parasitic worm!! Ugh! Yuck.

[sneakyburrito]

Gremlin,to get shell rot is having your turtle be constantly under water for more than a month or so without having a chance to bask. you make it sound like shell rot happens within a day or even a week. and also, little cakes, i gaurantee you that it is shedded skin on your turtle. not some parasite.

[Tenodera]

To me it's kinda shaped like a squid.

er, I'd guess it's a by-product of the digestive process, maybe she expelled a ball of bacteria, or some food that got rotten in her intestines from long ago.

It could also be skin, but skin is wispy and doesn't clump up like that. (Unless its the picture angle.)

Well anyways, I'm stumped. Your turtle has a tiny tail! very cute.

[marisa]

That doesn't look like skin shedding to me. What has your turtle been eating lately?