General Care Discussion :: Spots on Turtle's Shell

[kathywa]

My 43 year old female turtle has just developed spots similar to these (http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... 10d679ca06) over the last couple of months.(That is why I was in here nosing around) However, she is shedding scuts without any difficulty and the shell is not eroded in the areas where the white spots occur, nor is it soft or odd in any other way than the color. Because she is doing so well otherwise, I was kind of in a holding pattern to see if they would fade on their own. Think I will try some of the medications you suggested. Hard to believe I could have gone all these years and never have experienced this before??
Any possibility they could be rub marks from where she scrapes on her platform, which is made of slate? She has taken to shoving her platform around the tub!! Tomorrow I am going to try a different basking rock and see if there is any change.

Always learn something at this sight! Wish I had had you 40 years ago!!

Kathy

[megcornell]

Wow, a 43 year old turtle- clearly you've been doing something right all these years .
Post pictures of her shell if you can, preferably the dry shell. That helps distinguish what if anything is affecting the shell.
Also, I've started a new thread on your turtle's issues so the conversation isn't a confused split of the two turtles' issues.

[kathywa]

Sorry to mix the posts & thank you for your reply. I am trying to post a picture, but having problems. However, in looking at the pictures again, they do look very similar to the fungus pictures, so I will pay a visit to my vet and get some meds.

Thank you for the help. Any tips on pics, as I seem to missing something?

Kathy

[SpotsMama]

Wow, I would love to see photos of your girl. If she's been with you for 43 years, you all must have quite a bond. She's family.

If her shell looks like the one in the link above, then it doesn't look like typical wear but, as you've concluded, more likely some sort of infection. If she were mine I'd take her to a good herp vet to see about some treatment.

On the basking surface, how does her plastron look? Usually infections show up first on the plastron. My 7 year old male basked for a while on a smooth (or at least it seemed smooth to me) flagstone but he got little abrasions on his plastron that had to be treated because the surface was too hard and rough. I switched out the stone for cork bark and he's had no more problems. By the way, he loves the cork bark surface - he scrambled right up on it like he had been waiting for me to give him a good basking surface - it seems very natural to him. When he stays inside in the winter in his aquarium he basks on a acrylic platform and it is also soft enough for him.

By the way, if your vet proposes a vitamin a shot for your girl, tell him/her that you'd prefer to give your turtle vitamin a in food or cod liver oil. Too much vitamin a is toxic but for some reason a lot of vets want to give it in injections - even when the turtle is basically healthy - and a number of turtles have had very bad reactions.

[kathywa]

Thank you for your post. She is like family..........after all, she has survived the growth of two children and is onto grandkids, not to mention all the dogs, cats, chickens, rabbits, gerbils, etc. she has seen pass through this household.

Her environment is rather unusual, as she lives in the bathtub in our guest room! It seems to have really agreed with her and she has been very healthy there until now. She seems to like her basking ramp, which was specially built for her of slate and ramped for ease of access. I see no change in her underbelly and no reluctance to bask. However, I am always learning and willing to make some changes for her comfort.

She is off her food right now, but that seems to happen to her periodically. She was eating dandlion greens with great gusto, but guess she only likes the summer ones? I am going to try some squash and the jello mixture, as she seems to like new things from time to time.

[bradmeisel]

wow a 43 year old turtle. That's really cool.