General Care Discussion :: I'm starting to worry about Mr. Turtle's Shell *Pics*

[crackerlady2007]

Ok, I neglected to get a UVB bulb for a long time, but I finally got one a while back, but Mr. Turtle's shell still looks pretty bad. What can I do? Here are pictures of him while he was basking. He lets me pick him up, so I could have moved him. I was just too lazy. That's why the lights are in the way.











What do you think?

[turtlelover818]

it needs to shed

[SpotsMama]

I'm inclined to think the main problem is that he seriously needs to shed those scutes and some fungus is established underneath the retained scutes. The white unhealthy stuff is almost exclusively on the small older retained scutes, while the newer growth looks healthy, which may be because his lighting has improved recently.

What does his plastron look like?

How loose are those old scutes? They look very loose. When they come off hopefully the shell underneath will be healthy.

Try to help him shed by making sure he basks regularly under good UVB and gets to dry out completely - top and bottom. You may even dry dock him some at night. It's good that you've got him a good bulb - what brand and strength is it?

The very best UVB light comes from the sun. If you can take him outside for some sun that would be great. However, I realize that in our northern hemisphere it's almost winter so depending on where you are, outdoor basking may not be an option right now. Shell problems take a long time to heal, so I'm sure you'll still be dealing with it months from now when it starts warming up, so try to get him into the sun some when it's practical.

When you're taking a turtle out for sun, you have to take precautions that he not overheat or get chilled, that he not get into any ant nests or fertilizers or pesticides, that no dogs or cats get him, and you have to watch him constantly so that he doesn't wander off.

The other thing you can do is make sure he gets food containing vitamin e, which helps a turtle shed. here's a list:

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

You might ask your vet about SSD cream (silver sulfadiazine). It's an excellent topical treatment for fungus (or other infection). The difficulty is if the fungus is underneath the retained scutes, the cream can't get to it to do its work. However, it might help in some places and also help prevent any infection from spreading to healthy shell. See what your vet has to say.

[crackerlady2007]

What does his plastron look like?

It looks really good.

How loose are those old scutes? They look very loose. When they come off hopefully the shell underneath will be healthy.

There are some that are loose, but most are not very. I wish they'd hurry up and come off.

Try to help him shed by making sure he basks regularly under good UVB and gets to dry out completely - top and bottom. You may even dry dock him some at night. It's good that you've got him a good bulb - what brand and strength is it?

He loves to bask. He basks all the time and completely drys out for sure. I guess I just need to wait for all those silly scutes to decide to fall off, right?

[SpotsMama]

I think you are right. It's a maddeningly slow process, but it's encouraging that the new growth on his carapace looks good and his plastron is good. Just hang in there! It took a full year for my turtle to loose some seriously retained scutes once I started working on it but it was worth the effort - today he looks great.

[zoologist]

Torti has a bad problem with retaining her scutes, and the ones coming off are coming off in flaky bits.

i have been feeding her about 3 frozen blueberries once a week, and it seems to be helping! i freeze them so they stay fresher longer

just my two cents.

[marisa]

If he hasn't had proper lighting to bask under for "a long time," the shell won't magically start looking better once he has a UVB light. It's going to take a while.

A number of scutes look loose toward the "top," but not at the "bottom." Make sure the water and tank are kept clean.

[crackerlady2007]

Ok. I'll give some of those foods a try. He doesn't usually like new foods, but he's going to have to I guess. I keep their tank fairly clean too. Thank you for your input. It's very greatly appreciated! I'll just be patient.

[steve]

I was told flaky scutes on box turtles/torts is a type of bacterial infection. I'm not sure what it could be on a RES, though Blue Flamingo and another user had a similar problem. The shells were fine after the next big shed

[octpusgirl8]

When i first got my first turtle (after years with no UVB lighting) his shell was kind of flaky. I can't see your pictures so i can't comment on how your turtle looks, but my turtle had a lot of retained scutes, and instead of coming off in whole sections they just kind of flaked away in bits. It took about a year of good diet and habitat for him to show a real improvement.

[crackerlady2007]

Patients is a virtue.....

And one I need to work on.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Those scutes are lifting around the edges and I think he is just shedding.