General Care Discussion :: A strange, pale spot.

[Motorwaffle]

The other day, my shedding turtle lost a scute on the upper central portaion of his shell. Under the scute there has been this pale, dime sized spot, sticking out from the rest. It is still hard, smooth, and utterly indistinguishable from the rest of the shell by touch. There is no indent or other sign that anything more came off than wasn't supposed to. I have found no traces of mold.
King Koopa is behaving normally, eating everything, and is very active in the water. In short, there are no other signs of a problem. His length and width are slightly larger than the average calculator.
King Koopa lives in a 20gallon tank (small, I know, but I have neither the money nor space for a larger one right now), with a strong filter. The water is kept at 78 degrees while the area at his basking rock is at a little over 80. The lamp has a UV-B bulb which he basks under for several hours a day. His diet consists of food pellets and various green vegetables. Fruits and meat are rarer, but he does get them occasionally. There is a "Doctor Turtle" in the water to fight bacteria.
I'm sorry if this is nothing and I'm worrying to much. I'm in the stage of new pet ownership where I think everything that looks different is a sign that King Koopa is dying.
Thanks for indulging me,
-Motorwafle

[steve]

Hi Motorwafle, I'm not certain what's going on with the scutes. The one in the middle could be an exposed bone layer, though those are usually whiter in color. Since the the adjoining scute looks to have issues as well, it's very possible there is some sort of infection.

I don't have much experience with painteds, hopefully someone can chime in about the discoloration.

[regalesse]

i agree with steve in that. my rescues have shell rot and their patches of the infection that caused it look exactly like that. anti bacterial ointment will help till you can get something stronger to kill the infection.

[Motorwaffle]

Alright, two more questions:
1. Everything I've read says that he needs to be kept in a dry receptical for varying amounts of time. I have a large, try tub for him, but what do I need to put in it? Also...
2. How long do I need to keep him there vs. how long should I let him swim?

[worldpeace]

1. I would put an old towel or some kind of cloth that at least covers the bottom of the tub. It's even better if the towel is rather large because the turtle might want to bury himself under it.
3. Dry docking implies that he needs to spend more time out of the water than in the water. When I've dry docked my turtles, I place them in water once a day to feed them and left them there for about 20-30 minutes. That usually gives them plenty of time to eat and have a bowel movement before you take them out and dry dock them again. You also need to let your turtle drink throughout the day, so about 3 times make sure you put him in water. You can leave him there for 20 minutes or more, but the more time he spends out of the water, the faster his shell is going to improve. I would recommend putting him in clean water, and maybe not even deep enough for the top of the shell to submerge. This way he can hydrate himself and the affected area at the top of the shell manages to stay dry.

Another thing, you need to have a heat lamp aimed on the tub with the turtle so the temperature stays warm. And make sure you place the tub in a place where there are no cold drafts.

Hope he'll get better soon.

[Motorwaffle]

Does that mean any time he's not drinking, hydrating or feeding that he needs to be kept out of the water? I'm just worried about him drying out if he's out for that long.

[Motorwaffle]

Also, do I need to put his basking lamp in the tub with him?

[worldpeace]

He won't dry out if you put him in water a few times a day, like I mentioned. He just needs to keep hydrated. Some days, my turtles spend 6 hours straight on the dock basking without even going for water. If you are still concerned and because it might take longer than a few days for his shell to heal, you might want to try something like this: keep him dry docked (with the occasional feeding and short access to water) during the day and let him sleep in his tank. Like I said before, the key is to try to keep him dry for as long as you can but without "disturbing" the turtle too much, if you know what I mean.

Like I mentioned before, a basking lamp does need to be aimed at the tub to keep the turtle warm and help with the healing process.

[Motorwaffle]

Thanks alot! I appriciate the clarification

[worldpeace]

You're most welcome. Keep us updated on the progress.

[Motorwaffle]

Hey everyone,

I've been keeping King Koopa dry docked for awhile now, and regularly applying an antiseptic. The spot seems to be shrinking very slowly, but it has also gotten much paler.
I tried contacting the local small animal hospitals, but none of them care for turtles. Should I be worried about it getting paler, or just keep doing what I'm doing?

[steve]

Can you post a picture? Has any of it come off?

[Motorwaffle]

Here are two pics




This one is less clear, I know, but I figured a closer one would help. He was a little jittery when I took him out of the tank, so I'll get another closer one when he calms down.

None of it is coming off in chunks. Like I've said before, the spots are indistinguishable from the rest of the shell apart from their discoloration. They are still hard and smooth. There is no raising or lowering of elevation where the pale spots reach the rest of the shell.

[steve]

It wouldn't be a bad thing to be able to have a vet you can get to if necessary. Where are you located?