General Care Discussion :: Shell problem?

[neohkor]

The more I look at it the weirder i felt..was it supposed to be like this? I have basking dock and lamp but heat lamp coming soon use to have a heat lamp..buying a new one soon. They are all eating happily and basking heathily..hmmm

[steve]

Looks like some fungus is shedding. Do the other turtles have it? Nice pics, btw.

[neohkor]

Well, both of them have kinda similiar shell..the other one looks liked this..is it safe or not to have fungus shedding off?

[Kansasslider]

Nice Mississippi Maps.

[neohkor]

Thanks! But im suspecting the male map is a Texas map..who can clear this confusion of mine?

[Kansasslider]

From the picture it looks like a Mississippi to me. But if you want to know for sure read "carapace" here...http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/c ... as_map.htm

[neohkor]

Btw..is it normal for the femlae to grow so slow? I think she's about 2-3 inch by now. I have her since 2010. She's like 4 years old already.

[Kansasslider]

As a general rule males will be smaller than females. Turtles grow at different rates. I wouldn't be worried. Are you sure its a female?

[neohkor]

I am quite sure as her nails and tails are short, the confirmed male is small with long nails and huge tails so I guess that's the difference that made me think the other one is a female.

[Kansasslider]

Yep

[steve]

Fungus is contagious, so it's not surprising both have it. How does the shell look with areas that have shed?

[neohkor]

Look kinda okay to me? There's no serious white spots but still not looking prety..can i just let the heat n uv light do rest of the job as theres only small amount of fungus left( or even probably the residue) because I am afraid of stressing them if I use the silvadene cream and dry docking method.

[steve]

If it doesn't shed off, then it'll continue. Is there any regular shedding going on?

[neohkor]

Yeah it does. They shed a lot sometimes even rub their shells on the driftwood. Looks a lot like twerking to me.

[steve]

Well, thats a good sign. If you do try the cream, it should work quickly or not at all. So I'd imagine it could be less than a week of treatment. And you can do it overnight and leave them in the tank during the day, so theres less stress.