Cause of poor water that got the ball rolling: going on vacation leaving her in the care of teens whose solution to a clogged filter was to simply unplug it. We came home to one nasty tank (that was in July). We did a partial water change and let the filter do the rest of the work. Obviously, that was not enough. Instead, we fostered a perfect little environment for dark algae growth on her shell.
Penelope started to shed her scutes in August even though she had already done so in February (hint #1). I felt it was odd, but not enough to set off any alarms. Penelope was acting fine, so I just gathered them up, tossed them on a paper towel to dry and then tossed them in a jar. When they were wet, nothing stood out. When they were dry I didn’t think to check them out.
Now that I learned why Penelope wound up with sepsis, I went back and looked at all the scutes and can clearly see the progression. Total time from algae invasion to sepsis = 4 months.
Algae:
- Infested with algae in underside of shell
Sepsis:
This was a tricky one. Please remember, when you live / look at something every day you don’t really notice gradual changes – liken it to someone you see every day going bald; you simply don’t “see it.” What caught my attention was when the webbing of her feet started turning pink. I couldn’t deny that. All of a sudden Penelope stopped eating and I took her to the vet.
- Signs of sepsis
When the vet looked her over and pulled off some loose scutes, the bubble-gum-pink hue shocked me. Not much to say about that. She also pointed out indicators of an unhealthy shed.
- Healthy shed on the right; unhealthy on the left - note the layers, fragmentation and discoloration (it looks orange, but in reality it was pinkish)
Treatment for the algae: Dry docked for 3 weeks at 80 degrees or higher and Betadine soaks with toothbrush rub every other day.
Treatment for sepsis: Two antibiotics (one taken every other day, and one daily). My vet was kind enough to put them in a bacon flavored suspension so I wouldn’t have to battle trying to give shots to an 11” grumpy turtle.
Lessons Learned: 1) Take a few seconds and look for algae every now and then; 2) Take a peek at those shed scutes once they have dried; 3) good water quality is more than just having sparkling water; 4) if you think your little guy or gal is turning pink – have someone who doesn’t see them every day take a look; 5) vet, vet, vet, vet…
Vet Cost:
Yes - vets cost money. After Penelope’s last round of illness, I started a “Penelope” fund in case I ever had to go to the vet again (glad I did). Every payday I drop a few bucks in. This time I told the vet exactly how much I could afford, so she bypassed the tests and went straight to the antibiotics. Not the preferred route, but at least one I could afford.
If my major lameness helps someone else keep their RES in good health, then it is worth airing my dirty laundry.
