Urgent Care :: pale spot on skin

[Starchick]

I came home from work tonight to find Napoleon with a pale spot on his front leg about a quarter inch in diameter. It doesn't look like there's a wound, but there's this patch of skin that seems to have lost all pigment, it's literally the same color as my skin. It seems to be the skin itself that I'm seeing, it's not something stuck to him. It was not like that this morning. I can't get a picture at the moment, something's up with my camera, but I will post one as soon as I can.

How big is your turtle? 4.5 inches
How long have you had it? 7 months

What is the water temperature? 76
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 15-20 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? reptisafe
Are you using any filtration? fluval 2 plus, partial water changes weekly, total cleaning every other week

What is the basking temperature? 96
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? zoo med turtle dock
Is there a UVB light? reptisun 5.0

What have you been trying to feed it? green leaf lettuce, carrots, red peppers, reptomin
When was the last time your turtle ate? this morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 30 gallons
Is the tank near a window? no
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? not really

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? no

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Perhaps fungus? A picture would help.

[Starchick]

Okay, got the camera working, here's a few pics







Has anyone seen anything like this before? It looks the same wet or dry, and doesn't seem to be at all sensitive to touch.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

I think its fungus...but wait till someone more knowledgeable comes in.

[Starchick]

I know in the pic it looks kind of fuzzy, but what you're seeing is just his skin, it's nearly translucent, there's nothing growing over his little scales or anything.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

Im sorry i cant give you any advice on what it is, i never seen anything like it. I do know that not all fungus is fuzzy, atleast that is what i heard. Maybe a vet should check it out?

[SpotsMama]

It looks to me like there's some of the same condition on his chin. I don't know what it is either.

[steve]

I would also lean towards fungus without knowing more. Here is a bit of info (on the bottom) http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

[marisa]

It looks like a fungus to me. Can you see any other patches on the tail, neck or other legs? If you wipe at it gently with a q-tip, does it look like it might come off?

[Starchick]

There don't appear to be any other spots. The patches some people have pointed out on his neck have always been there, and they don't look like anything other than normal skin. I've rubbed at the spot with my finger, and there's nothing to come off. There's nothing growing on the skin, the paleness you're seeing is the skin itself, almost like it's been bleached.

[Starchick]

Going to the vet today, hopefully he'll know what to do :/

[Starchick]

Good news for Napoleon, the vet said that he's sure it's not a fungus, and that it looks like normal skin that's just been abraded or calloused. He said that pigment loss sometimes happens if the turtle scrapes himself or does something that rubs a limb against his shell repeatedly. He said I should bring him back in if something changes or I'm worried about it and he'd do a biospy but he didn't think it was necessary. But he said the bottom line was that he didn't see anything that indicated a pathogen, so I shouldn't worry. So I'm very happy, I was so scared I was shaking when I got in there, not knowing if it would be serious or not. Thank God it was nothing!

[marisa]

Well that's good to hear.

[SpotsMama]

Whew!