General Care Discussion :: Shell Problem, Alge and undershedding

[Newbie_Owner]

Ello Everyone!
Well, it been awhile since Ive posted a Malady Rocket has had, but unfortunately His Shell condition is
Deteriorating. Although his shell Has never Full Recovered, small patches of white spots still remained from a full blown
white shell. Over the Course of two Months A hint of Alge formed, I Carelessly ignored it, It came to the point were
His shell is covered with alge and undershedding, Ive changed the basking Light, and added alot of more veggies to his
Diet, but im afraid it isn't working, Im going to attempt blue berries tomorrow,
( BTW: how many blue berries are appropriate for a 4 1/8 inch Turtle?).
On top of that, im going to begin a light scrub with a toothbrush, but what I noticed is, When I took a Paper towel and Dried his shell off to begin inspection, I lightly Rubbed against a severely alge covered scute, and a soft film came off, revealing a slightly white under, im guessing its from undershedding,if I scrub his shell will Scutes fall off?
and if I do Scrub, any suggestions in a method?

Ive been trying to get a Vet up here in the Bronx ( NYC ) but I can't seem to find one in the area, if anyone knows of one who can Examine RES's Ill be Grateful.

- Thank you, Still a *Newbie_Owner*

[steve]

Do you know what the white stuff on his shell is? The soft film sounds like what fungus does in my experience. Once it gets past one scute layer, it goes for the next one.

[marisa]

Can you post a pic of the shell dry?

I'm not sure I understand what you mean by the term "undershedding"---the plastron?

I would not vigorously scrub the shell until I knew more about what I was dealing with.

[Newbie_Owner]

Thanks for the Responses so far!

Well, Im pretty Sure the White Stuff is also fungus of some sort, but im not entirely Certain.
As for the "Undershedding" Sorry for the misunderstanding there, I ment Retained Scutes.
Hopefully When Im able to Post up some snapshots my Explanation will be Clearer

- Thanks, Newbie_Owner

[Newbie_Owner]

Unfortunately The Quality isn't Great, But this just gives You an Idea, * Note: Black Lines or Spots are Brownish green in Actuality*


^ As you can See its he Hasn't Shed a whole Lot, And Alge Has formed, However if you look Carefully in this image this morning his Scutes did Flake out on the Lower Left and Upper Left Scutes, And Are now revealing a slightly Browned and Green shell but Still has layers Covering it.T Note that the White Spots scattered around. It seems the Upper layers are starting to flake off and Believe it or not, The Green is actually Starting to Dissappear on most Sections. His shell is Hard and doesn't Smell the slightest bit, Nor Does it Irritate him If this Shell is Lightly Pressed on.

[marisa]

Yes, he has retained scutes and needs to shed. In a "normal" shedding, the scutes come off in whole pieces. Flaking off indicates that something is amiss with either the diet, the enclosure or both. (Poor husbandry is also responsible for fungus.) You said you changed the basking light---does he also have a UVB light to bask under? He should have both.

[Newbie_Owner]

Would a Mercury Vapor Bulb Suffice Instead of Two separate Bulbs( UVA and UVB )? If So, Ill Head out and Buy One, If its more Expensive, I think it would be Preferable to Constantly Purchasing two Different Bulbs, Unless There is an Output Difference?
As for the Diet, His Main Diet Consists of Mainly Pellets( 4 Large Pellets , combined, they are slightly larger than his head), However, twice a week or so, I Clip a Piece of Red Leaf Lettuce or green leaf lettuce, But Recently Ive been feeding him Blueberries(2 or 3), about once a week as well.Monthly I Put in 3 or 4 minnows. Should I Add something else, Take something Away? As for the Enclosure, I have to Do Constant weekly half tank Water Changes, as the water gets Murky Fast, I guess my Filter Can't Handle the Load anymore, its Internal so That should explain why, But Until I Can Afford Something Larger, Ill Have to Stick with The frequent Water Changes.

[Newbie_Owner]

Small Update: Im going to Head out today and Get one of my Friends Cascade 500 Filters, He Actually Never used it on one of his setups, Man Shouldve Asked him awhile ago if he had any extra Stuff Laying Around *lol* going to use this and my internal, Hopefully this would work for about 45 Gallons?

[steve]

The issue with fungus this bad is that the retained scutes do not easily come off by themselves. Water trapped in there can cause a secondary infection which was what happened to my RES. I don't know what it was, but it was eating away at the shell and I never noticed because it was hidden by the retained scutes.