General Care Discussion :: Shell Health

[Zephyr]

Hey, I've had little Zephy for two months now and he's been eating, basking and swimming voraciously. However, I've noticed that some scales have now started to shed, which got me thinking about his shell health. Ive included a few pic below for you to comment on how you think his shell looks so far. There are a couple of small tiny white bits which could either be scale lifting up, mineral deposits (we have very hard water here) or the onset of a fungal infection (tank was scrubbed and the new water was treated with aquarium salts yesterday just in case*). I feed him a dandelion leaf most days along with sone zoomed hatchling formula. Other stuff he gets includes carrot, duckweed, brine shrimp (treat), apple (rarely and no skin), cuttlefish bone, red lettuce and earthworms (once a month). Since he's started eating a couple of days after i got him he's never refused any type of food I try out with him.







http://i.imgur.com/GRT62.jpg


*aquarium salts are added on each water change anyway.

[steve]

Hard to tell if that is fungus... is this the 2 spots near his head? He's also shedding irregularly, it looks like growth has been a bit fast and I would consider reducing protein intake. Also keep an eye on the scutes that are "chipping" away, as that might be a problem.

I would try treatment on those spots anyway, it could be quick and effective when caught early on.

[Zephyr]

I was referring to the shell as a whole. But those spots worried me first. What treatment would you recommend? In regards to what I feed him, his pellets would be the only source of protein he has, should I reduce the amount of those I give to him? (which was a pinch relative to his head - zoomed hatchling formula if you're familiar) Also is it his feed as a whole (everything included) relative to his head size or each different foodstuff relative to his head size (eg head size pellets, head size small chopped carrots, few duckweeds)

Really appreciate this.

[steve]

Well, I see three issues:

Retained scutes - simply adjust his diet. It's possible others are sneaking food to him, so you might have to sort out his food in a pill box.
Peeling of the retained scutes - You need to keep an eye on this since it's not shedding normally. As long it's only the top layer, it's fine. If it's more than one layer, there could be some other issues. Never force these off. Normally they develop air pockets and just pop off, these are only peeling from the edges instead.
Fungus - If the setup is fine and there is plenty of basking, then you might need only a minimal amount of dry docking and silver sulfadiazine treatment.

These are where there might be fungus:


I'd cut out the shrimp and worms.

[Zephyr]

Thanks a bunch then. He basks nearly everyday at 30-32 degrees celcius. I'll only feed 5-6 pellets of the Zoomed hatchling formula from now on, is that okay? (I know they have a pretty high protein content). And no earthworms whatsoever (or bimonthly as a treat?). Is there any way to coax these retained scutes off? Shall I give the jello shots a go with the blueberries? I don't want the under layer to start retaining as well.

[steve]

How many pellets were you feeding before? You can try some wheat germ koi pellets, people think they help with the shedding.

[Zephyr]

I wasnt counting them before, just a pinch around the size of its head. Wheat Germ? Isnt that in Koi food?

[steve]

Yes, add some to your other pellets.

[Zephyr]

Cool, I went out and bought Tetra Wheatgerm pond pellets. I gave him 2 of those (along with cuttlefish bits and smaller amount of duckweed) instead of his other pellets. I'll rotate each day between the two and let you know how things go. Thanks for the help. Btw, im going to get some silver cream just in case aswell, but im holding off it until the scute sheds, to see if it disappears and/or gets worse in terms of fungus.

[steve]

Fungus will spread before it sheds, so I would still treat if first rather than wait and see.

[Zephyr]

Okay. Would a salt bath also help before I go to a vet and have to pay fees? I'm prepared to do that but I already have aquarium salts.

[steve]

I haven't heard of salt really helping. There is a sulfa dip that might help but if it's a small infection I would definitely try to treat it before it gets worse.

[Zephyr]

Okay will do, I'm buying some Nolvasan on the Internet as we speak for disinfecting before application of the silver. Can't seem to get the silver cream to ship outside of the US though, plus our local vet doesn't have any. Damn prescriptions. I'll probably need someone within the US to get it for me, then ship it over.

www.turtlepuddle.org/health/shellrot.html

This method okay?

[steve]

Nolvasan or Hibiclens (Chlorhexidine) is good. The directions on the other page are fine, good luck!

[PridgNYC]

You need a prescription for it in the US too.