General Care Discussion :: Few questions, mainly about shell care

[FallenAngel7]

About a year ago I bought my son a RES. Hes only 3 years old, so I take care of it, and have grown extremely attached the her (betty is her name). My husband and I split up in December and I was forced to leave with nothing in the house but my son and myself. Betty was left behind, and I assumed my X would take care of her, especially since our son would come and visit and was very fond of Betty... but he didnt.

Last weekend I finally got my belongings, and requested that betty would live with me. When I went to pick her up, her tank looked as if it had never been cleaned. It had about an inche of water in it (its a 20 gallon long tank). One of her lights had burnt out, and who knows how long it had been burnt out. He wasnt feeding her any of her pellets because none where gone from the canister, and I think he had only been throwing in carrots here and there, because I saw some remains of them.

After thoroughly cleaning her tank (and having to buy a new filter because it was so corroded pieces began breaking on it) Betty seems to be much happier. She wasnt moving around much, seemed very depressed. I bought her some live feeders, which normally I would buy three and they were gone in a week or so, but she had them gone in 5 minutes. I have her back on her regular diet, which she seems to be doing very well with... but I have one concern.

Due to her poor diet, lack of lighting, bad water quality and numerous other things, her shell has a few spots on it that looked chipped off. They arent big spots. There are two to be exact, and about this: O : size. I went out and bought some vitashell stuff. Its a pinkish lotion you put on the shell once a week. Should this be good for the shell? What exactly should I do?

[Starchick]

Vitashell isn't great for turtles. Supposedly using it too much can stunt shell growth. Once in a while shouldn't hurt but it won't really do anything. What you should probably do is clean the spots with diluted Hibiclense (you can get it at the drugstore) then rinse it off really well. That will help if there's an infection. Keep an eye on the spots, and if they get bigger or get soft or start to smell, you should take him to the vet. But if it's just minor shell damage with no infection, it will slowly disappear as the shell sheds. That will take a long time, but so long as you can determine that it's nothing more serious, I wouldn't worry. Check out austinsturtlepage.com for a list of shell conditions and photos and see if any of them look like what you're seeing. Also, if you can post a clear picture here there are lots of people that can probably identify it.

[marisa]

Vitashell is oil based and with continued use it will clog the pores on the shell, which needs to breathe. I wouldn't use it.

The best thing you can do is to keep feeding Betty a balanced diet that includes plenty of calcium and bring her habitat up to par with correct lighting. Check the temps and clean the tank and change the water regularly. It took time for the problem to appear and it will take time for it to go away.

You could post a pic of the areas if you're really concerned.

[SpotsMama]

Don't use the vitashell, it's not good for the turtle. Washing the spots with hibiclense followed by a good rinse couldn't hurt and might help, as Starchick says. Marisa is correct - the best cure is to correct all the habitat and diet deficiencies.

Poor Betty! I sure am glad you got to her in time. Because she was in poor conditions for awhile, you should keep an eye on her so be sure she doesn't develop an illness as a result. Some signs of illess are acting listless, poor appetite, breathing with her mouth open.