General Care Discussion :: Shell Condition, Fungal or What?

[Nin10doGC]

Here is a picture of my female turtle. I'm talking about these white spots on the shell. I couldn't get a dry shell pic, because she is very irritable. She also slid off the rock when I got the camera.



(Please don't comment on the tank, I'm working on it!)

[Raphulk]

i cant really see what youre describing. are you talking about the white spots on the left side ( our left, her right) side of the shell that look like drops of white paint?

[Nin10doGC]

The right side. (If you were my turtle. )

(Can't get a dry shell shot because I have open cuts on my fingers, don't want to get salmonella!)

[PcBuilder14]

Use gloves if you can and let her roam around in a closed off area to dry off.

[Nin10doGC]

I used all the gloves in my house already. She is way to irritable though.... uggh I hope it's not anything serious.

[JimmyJam]

Try some plastic grocery bags, maybe double bagging it would do.

[LeslieMW]

yea i don't see anything either.

but that means that it's probably nothing too serious!

[untsmurf]

I can't see anything either. If you're really worried about salmonella, get some plastic bags (either trash bags, sandwich bags, grocery bags, etc.) to pull her out and let her dry off. If you don't have anything plastic in your entire house, ask a family member to move her, or borrow some from the neighbors. Make sure she's completely dry before retaking pics. That should help with the diagnosis.

[SpotsMama]

I see some little white flecks like flecks of paint. A dry picture would be helpful. The white is probably little bits of fungus, not very advanced. Have you drying washing her shell, rubbing it gently with a wet paper towel? Maybe the white will come off.

[Nin10doGC]

I've tried to wash her when I was cleaning the tank. I think it helped a little, but it didn't seem to work too well, although I'll get a picture when she is basking.

[Nin10doGC]

Ok, I finally got some pictures.



This is probably the best picture but you can see the others at: http://i243.photobucket.com/albums/ff143/Nin10dogc

If you have an answer it would be appreciated. IS it possible it's mineral deposits from hard water? Is it serious (Checked the wiki, it didn't give a good answer) and what can I do to fix it.

[SpotsMama]

It really doesn't look serious. It may be a little fungus that will probably come off with his next shed. Be sure he basks a lot - he must dry out completely top and bottom - under good UVB light. If the white spreads or starts looking worse, come back and we'll take another look.

He does appear to need to shed some scutes. The very thin top layer of the shell should pop off from time to time. To help him shed, in addition to lots of basking, be sure he gets some food in his diet that contains vitamin e, which helps with shedding. Here are some examples:

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

[PcBuilder14]

Don't worry about it, it looks fine and like SpotsMama said it will go away within the next shed. hard water deposits look basically like as if part of the shell has been colored white.

[Nin10doGC]

I just tried feeding him Apple peel, tomato and blueberries. The apple peel seemed to be seeping this odd looking stuff, almost like oil looking into the water, I took it out immediately for fear of pesticides. Then the tomato just made him weird. The blueberries are still in there but he hasn't touched them, hope it helps.

[SpotsMama]

Blueberries are usually a favorite. Give him a little time!