General Care Discussion :: health issues, shell and diet

[dsenk48]

Background
-I have had a res for a little bit under a year. I got it when it was a baby from a sketchy store in the mall that by no means was a pet store. A lot of the turtles there had eye infections and were kept in little unheated goldfish cages. I actually had to return one because of that problem and they gave me this one in exchange. I was debating not taking it because I realized how much work it was going to be and I was scared to lose another turtle. My gf really felt bad about the previous turtle(and the countless others that had the same problem) so we took this one home. Since I brought it home I have had this turtle in a 20 gallon tank with a heater, filter, basking light, uvb 5.0 straight tube, and turtle dock. The bottom of the tank has a few rocks that are probably the same size as the turtle. The turtle is about maybe 3 inches at the most, probably closer to 2. I am assuming it is still under a year old, and I am not sure whether a boy or girl. The water is always about 80 degrees and the basking temps are also about 80 degrees right now because in the winter my house is a little bit cold. She basks a lot during the day. She is active and appears healthy.

Shell Problem
-Starting some time last summer her shell started browning. It was gradual but now almost her entire shell is brown. I have tried dry docking, and cleaning her with a toothbrush and hibiclense. Does not seem to have any effect. Her shell is not fuzy or soft. Looks mostly like the schutes have dried out and never shed. I assume she just needs to get a good shed to get rid of the browned schutes. Any suggestions?

Diet Problem
-She used to eat pellets like crazy, and would enjoy occasional fruit, vegetables, and shrimp. When the winter first started she seemed to stop eating, and after a few weeks I didn't know what to do. I realized she would eat the shrimp treats, but that's all. I tried only giving her pellets for a week to see if she would give up and eat them but she did not, and I keep a cuddle bone in the tank which she only occasionally will bite. I put lettuce in sometimes but she never goes near vegetables. SO right now her diet is only shrimp.... Any suggestions?

Should I see a vet? I am looking for one in the area but having trouble finding one, and I am also kind of broke cause i am a college student but I am not against going to a vet if it is necessary. The turtles health is my main concern. I am currently setting up a 55 gallon tank to move her to. I am excited about giving her some more space and a new home to explore, but I want to take care of her problems before I commit her to the new home. I have a cascade 1000 canister filter on the way, I am going to buy a new uvb bulb soon, I have a larger basking platform on the way, I have some big rock formations being disinfected, and I have been thinking about getting a pleco or two to keep the tank clean. Any suggestions for the new setup would also be appreciated but not neccessary.

[dsenk48]

These are some pictures of her shell and tank

[dsenk48]

and some more pictures

[swiltz]

Shell issues are primarily caused by inadequate lighting, basking allocation times and water quality. I would try to increase the amount of time she gets to bask, (ard 8 hrs a day if using UVB bulbs) and 3-4 hrs in the sun. (note: to provide shelter/water when u leave her out in the sun).
The whiteness on the shell looks like hard water deposits to me.... so improving the quality of the water would help to prevent further issues..
You can try feeding your turtle Hikari wheatgerm pellets that contain Vitamin E (which aids in shedding). Or even blueberries, as many others on the forums have suggested

[dsenk48]

thanks a lot! in terms of improving water quality... do you have any suggestions? I used to use the houses well water, but now I use tap water with reptisafe conditioner in it. The shell actually looks a little bit better today, I have been cleaning her every morning with a soft tooth brush this week. The green that you can see on the right side of her shell beginning to peek out wasnt even there at the start of the week

[ataraxiamb]

Not sure about the shell issues...

But in terms of diet, you might try some aquatic plants like hornwort or wysteria. My turtle took to hornwort immediately, despite having turned up his nose at carrots and squash.

[steve]

Looks to be classic fungal infection. I'd start reading this page: viewtopic.php?t=10839

I want to warn you about two additional issues - secondary infections and re-occuring infections.

Fungal infections can hide what's going underneath retained scutes and must be carefully checked for debris and infections under any scutes that might be in the progress of shedding. These secondary infections can be deadly and simply eat away at a shell.

Fungal infections not treated correctly or throughly eliminated from a set up can re-occur. They are much more aggressive and will be more difficult, if not impossible to treat.

[dsenk48]

I have actually read that article a few times. I am just going to take her to the vet and get it settled once and for all. Thanks for your help guys. I will let you know what happens

[adbritta]

I hope she gets better soon. She's a pretty little thing.

[dsenk48]

Thanks, yea i've really taken a liking to having her around! But good news, today I was thinking realll hard and realized that she usually tries to take a bite of the pellets and than gets discouraged because they are sooo hard, but since she is so picky she wont try to eat the same pellets when they become soggy cause I guess they are too old for her by then. So i just soaked the pellets in some water before I put them in her tank, to make them nice and soft, and she ate a bunch! Also, I found a vet that I was told is very good with reptiles and actually specailizes in reptiles and small animals, which is really hard to find in my area, and I have an appointment for the 26th. Idk if any of you will even read this again but I will post the verdict and possibly some recovery if it goes well. I am really curious as to what is wrong with her shell because It doesn't match, perfectly, anything I have seen before.

[dsenk48]

Oh, and she really likes blueberries, good tip! THanks

[steve]

Good luck! But yea, it's fungus.

[dsenk48]

So I saw the vet yesterday. It is not fungus, It was actually what I had thought all along. She never shed and for some reason the shell started drying out but remained attatched. Along with that she has a mild case of MBD. The vet used a small dremel on her shell and the dry bits of shell started chipping off revealing a much healthier layer underneath. He said that the shell just needs to be uncovered to start getting more light and oxygen to support shedding. He also gave her a vitamin D shot, gave me a de-wormer just in case the MBD was caused by a parasite(he couldn't figure out what had caused the MBD or the shell problems because he said my set up seemed better than most people that come to him for the first time, and that the diet problems were normal since it was during winter) and some prescription calcium. The calcium is given by mouth for 2 months so I will try to update as she recovers. But for now the biggest change is what I could get out of her shell by slowly and carefully chipped off the rest of her dried shell. Let me know what you guys think about my vets opinions and treatments. He seemed like a great guy and gave my turtle a full check up in addition to the rest. He wants to see me again in a couple months and requested a stool sample. It ended up being pricey (especially since I am a broke [---] college student) but I am happy that we have made some progress. Oh, and I am holding off on the new tank until this is all over.

[dsenk48]

This is a picture of what the vet had done. She is pretty dry in this picture but it's a bit far away. I have a picture of her after I was done, as soon as I get it on the computer I will upload it too.

[dsenk48]

Oh and the area around her butt, that always looked different than the dryed out part but different than the normal shell, is the part that he said is being effected by MBD. It was a little bit wavy and I now realize that the discoloring is not from the same thing effecting the rest of her shell.