General Care Discussion :: Black spot on shell

[MMC32879]

I posted this question a while back and was asked to submit a photo. This is a turtle that belongs to a friend of mine. It seems to have a black spot on it's shell that it has had since before she got it. Does anyone know if something is wrong or if it is just a defect. I was considering using sulfa dip but I don't know if the turtle is old enough for that or if would even help. If anyone has had any experience with this please get back to me.

[cam722]

Does the area have any smell or is it softer than the rest of the shell? It looks as if it was damaged some how... is there anyway you can get a closer picture of that area?

[MMC32879]

This is as close up as I can get without it getting too blurry.

[MMC32879]

Here is a better, closer shot. As you can see it is confined to the one scute and has not spread at all. It has gotten better as it has grown, it used to be that the entire scute was black, now it seems like the center it is mostly around the outline of the scute. Please let me know if you think I should do a sulfa dip or not. Like I said the turtle is very small and I don't know if he's too young or not.

[steve]

If it is getting better, then I would skip the sulfa dip.

You can use a sulfa dip as a preventative measure for certain things, but UVB, calcium and regular basking is good for the shell. It seems like his body is doing the job of healing properly, though it may take a couple of sheds before it's all back to normal.

[marisa]

Was it like that when your friend got the turtle? Has it changed at all (gotten bigger or improved?) It looks like there could have been some shell rot that is trying to heal. If it were me, I'd get some chlorohexidine and wash the area periodically to encourage healing. The tank water should be kept clean. A good diet with adequate calcium and basking under proper lighting will also help.

[MMC32879]

Yes, it was like that when she got the turtle. It has gotten better, when she first got him the entire scute was black, now it seems like it has gotten greener in the center and is only black aroung the outside of the scute. So it seem to be healing. It isn't soft or anything, I am just wondering if there is anything I can do to help the healing process. I know she was treating it with an iodine solution, what is chlorohexidine and where can she get it?

[marisa]

It's an effective anitmicrobial, that, unlike iodine, which killls good tissue along with the bad, encourages good tissue to grow. You don't say where you're located. Some pharmacies sell it under the name HibiClens. I've also used chlorohexidine gluconate from a hospital I'm based out of---it's basically a surgical scrub. You could get it from a herp vet---the brand name is Nolvasan.