General Care Discussion :: concerned about shell *pics*

[Starchick]

Just this morning I noticed that one of the scutes on the underside of Napoleon's carapace has sort of a powdery looking coloration to it. I've never noticed it before but it may have been there. It appears to be on the surface, but did not come off when I scratched at it, and was visible when the shell was both wet and dry. Does anyone know what it is?



I'm also concerned about his shell in general, I know shedding is a long process, but it seemed like he had a big shed all at once, and next to nothing since. His shell is beginning to look dull and almost flaky, and I don't know if that's normal between sheds or if I should be worried about it. The flakiness isn't visible when he's wet, and if I rub it I do get some residue on my fingers. It appears to be only just the very top layer of his shell, and his shell is not soft or anything. Off to the right in this picture you can see where his shell is starting to look pale around the edges, I think just from banging into the side of his tank and not shedding those scutes for so long. (As an aside, does his eye look ok? that's what I was really trying to take a picture of at the time.)

[jenaero]

I'm going to venture a guess that the shell problem is just minerals from the water. Doesn't look like any kind of fungus/rot/whatever to me. Do you use a water conditioner?

The eyes look a bit puffy to me but I can't say for sure as I've never actually seen a real live painted turtle.

[Starchick]

I do use Reptisafe, but only started about a month ago.

[marisa]

One of my painteds had the very same thing. I use spring water in the tank, so I don't think it's mineral deposits. As a precaution, I washed his shell with chlorohexidine once a day for several days just in case it was bacterial/fungal in nature. It did go away, but I don't know if it was from the cleaning or from the fact that he started basking more (maybe both).

[kikicool]

My guys both have that, and both rarely shed. Like yours, had one big shed when I bought them home, and pretty much none since. Let me know if you find any answers.

[Starchick]

Marisa, is the chlorohexidine something I can pick up at the drugstore, or is it something specialized? How would you recommend I use it? I picked up a jar of zoomed sulfa dip at the pet store just to have it on hand but I'm not sure if that's appropriate. I just feel like I should be doing something for it...

[SpotsMama]

Marisa, any tips on how to get the chlorohexidine (Hibiclense) off after you've put it on your turtle? Because of the white on Spot's shell, I'm trying it for a few days (rubbing Hibiclense on his shell). The first day I thought I rinsed him pretty well in the sink but I noticed a little soap residue in the water when I put him back in.

[kikicool]

Hibiclens can be purchased at a drugstore, Iget mine at CVS. usually in the first aid aisle (although, side note... works great on zits! dries out skin, so I just use it on a zit and put a band aid over. Whoops, did I admit that? )

What I do is, I fill a cap with hibiclens. I take a qtip and run the warm water. I dip the qtip into warm water then hibiclens. Then I rub it on hte bad spots. I leave the water running and use as many qtips as I need. I don't let the qtip get mangly, because I want the soft cotton tip on the shell, not the hard stick part, you know? Also I don't use a LOT of the hibiclense, I just literally dip the tip in very quickly. It barely suds, if at all. It's concentrated, I *think*. It's an aqua/teal plastic bottle with a white cap.

Many times a piece of scute sort of lifts up when I do this. Great! Then I put qtip beneath and soft rub, and it often comes up all the way. I do NOT rub hard, because here on the forum I learned that turts are sensitive on their shells (I totally would NEVER have thought that!) Then I let them wander for a few minutes, 10-20. Then I rinse them off really well--i use qtips again if I need to.

Each time I do this, the shell looks better--then, within a few days, it looks like it did before. *sigh* beginning to wonder if this is actually scarred shell or what.

[marisa]

Sorry to be late getting back to this thread. As kikicool said, you can buy Hibiclens (which is chlorohixidine gluconate) at drug stores. The directions say to use only as much as is necessary on the area to be treated, and it doesn't take much before suds appear. I wet the area to be cleaned, add a few drops and gently brush the shell with a super-soft toothbrush. If you're having trouble getting the residue off, you could dilute it---Hibiclens is 4% chlorohexidine, which is more concentrated than the recommended 2% Nolvasan solution (if you buy concentrated Nolvasan, the directions tell you to dilute it with water to a 2% solution). I leave it on the shell for a few minutes and then rinse well--for the final rinse, I actually hold the turtle under running water (just make sure it's not too hot or cold) until the water ran clear.

I also have occasion to enter hospital labs, where 2% chlorohexidine gluconate (surgical scrub) is used for hand washing. This will also work well (and doesn't have to be diluted), although the liquid is a bit thicker than the Hibiclens. Just rinse well.