General Care Discussion :: What's on her shell?

[Eltemp]

I know it must get old everyone posting every thing they feel is an ailment for their turts and expecting someone to give all the answers. I have been looking at every shell issue thread that I have seen and I am still not sure what is on her shell though. I have tried using vingegar to clean it off thinking it is hard water. I have tried betadine not sure if it was something infected/growing. There is no odor to it or any softness to the scutes that are white. The scute feels like all the other scutes. This appeared after a huge shedding.

[steve]

Looks like shell fungus. Were the scutes that shed thick or previously retained? Did they look normal?

[Eltemp]

They were really retained when I got her. What works best to fight it?

[Eltemp]

Well guess I will have to try use sulfa dip then. Wonder if the local shops have it

[Eltemp]

I don't seem to be able to find sulfa dip anywhere in town. I am going to try salt water soaks with some dry docking. What is the best method for dry docking so I don't overheat or dehydrate turtles?

[steve]

Any chance you can get SSD (silver sulfadiazine) cream from a vet? I doubt sulfa dip or salt work at this point.

Dry docking overnight is the easiest way to do it. This is my instruction for SSD:

There are a few ways to do it but first make sure your tank/filtration/lighting/water quality/basking stuff is 100% ready because you don't want a reoccurrence. As for applying the cream, during the evening I would let the turtle go into a dry enclosure (could be a large box, sectioned off room, etc) for about 30-60 minutes. The turtle won't like it but you want the shell to be dry. Apply a very small, thin layer of the cream. It's greasy, so spread it around. Turn off the lights and let the turtle sleep overnight with the cream on. In the morning, there will be some residue, so you will have to wipe the shell and possibly scrub it (with a new, clean toothbrush) under some water. Wipe again and return the turtle into the main tank.

[Eltemp]

I will have to try and get it from a vet sulfa dip has been discontinued.

[steve]

I wasn't aware of that, though to be honest it is more useful as a preventative medication.

[Eltemp]

Took her in today. Vet could not see any sign of fungus under the microscope but gave us some MicaVed lotion to use on a dry shell once a day.

Fixed a typo

[ljapa]

Good to hear it's not fungus.

How hard is your water? Could it be hard water stains? If so, vinegar should be able to clean it.

[Eltemp]

I had tried that already to no affect.

[dumbork14]

How do you do the vinegar dip?

[steve]

I am not sure what to look for under a microscope, though it can be cultured. With the vinegar not working as I would expect, have you tried the SSD cream?

[Eltemp]

I have been using the micaved they would not give me ssd.

[steve]

Sorry to hear that. As far as I know, only SSD cream has been effective against this type of infection.