what's wrong with my red eared sliders shell?

Question

My 3 year old turtle's shell has gone whiteish-yellow, more obvious when it is dry. It looks flakey but its not soft or spongy. You can see his markings a little around the edges and the outline of the shapes but otherwise its white. Not sure how long its been like this cos just got it back from turtle-sitters a couple of months ago. It basks a lot but maybe not getting enough uv cos the light is placed on top of the glass lid. Any suggestions before i spend $$ at the vet?!

Answer 1

It might be sheding, but from your description, I think it is shell rot. Here is what to do. It sound fairly server so you probably need to take it to a vet. But the vet will charge you several hundred, if you can't afford it here is a home trestment. First make a dry box to keep the turtle in, shell rot needs water to grow. Kepp it warm and give it plenty of light. THUROUGHLY clean the tank, scrub every rock, every corner etc. You can let the turtle swim for about 20 minutes a day in something other than his tank. 1-2 times a day take a cotton ball and use it to apply Hydrogen Peroxide to his shell (you can get it at wal mart, it is not expensive) it should start bubbling al over the place, this is good keep applying it. Just be carefull not to get it in his eyes. once that is done clean the shell and apply providone-iodine sollution to the shell, coat the shell and don't clean it off untill he is readly to swim the next day. Keep this up for several weeks and it should go away, the shell will have some scarring but the turtle will be okay and the scarring will go away with time. One other thing I forgot, before you begin treatment scrub the shell, and get as much of the infection off as possible, the turtle won't like it but it has to be done, I hope this helps and your turtle comes out okay, good luck.

Answer 2

SPEND THE MONEY FOR THE VET ANYWAY!

No this does not sound like a diet problem. This sounds like a fungal infection brought about by poor husbandry. A bad diet could have been a contributing factor, but more than likely it came about as a result of the turtle being kept in very dirty tank
( probably without filtration ), in chlorinated tap water, and possibly without sufficient UVB.
No...UV does not pass well through glass. It is almost completely attenuated by glass, especially with the cheap flourescent UV tubes. There can't be anything inbetween the animal and the UV light, otherwise you are just wasting your money.

Ensure that you are in fact using a UVB lamp as well, and that it is less than 6 months old. This condition can be painful to the turtle, and can result in death if not treated. Take the turtle to the vet as soon as possible to assess the damage. There may be secondary bacterial infection also.

The shell of your turtle is in fact part of it's bone structure. It is coated by the scutes ( scales ) for protection. When these scutes are damaged and start to peel off, they expose the underlying bone to chemicals in the water which can cause irritation and pain, or to microorganisms which can cause infection. Bone can get infected, and can kill the turtle.

The vet may prescribe Baytril oral or injection and a topical antifungal. I would also further advise daily exposure of 20 minutes to direct sunlight for additional UVB exposure, and soaks a few times a day in a seperate salt water bath inbetween applications of antifungal. Ensure the tank is clean and sterilized, that it is filtered, that you are using filtered or distilled water only
( or water conditioning drops ), and that is properly set up with UVB light. You may wish to add a turtle sulfa block to the tank, and I would also recommend a flavored calcium block or cuttlebone in a dry feeding area of the tank to provide additional calcium to aid in healing, or see if your RES will take collard greens.

It takes a long long time for a turtle's shell to heal, and this sounds like the shell infection is not confined to a small area, but instead widespread across the carapace. In that case it will probably take a vet visit to save the turtle before the infection gets any deeper into the bone, blood, or results in more deadly secondary bacterial or viral infections.

Answer 3

Maybe it needs calcium. Thats a common problem with turtles. THe best way is to give it fresh Elodea (anarchis)

Answer 4

it sounds like a diet problem.. find out what the turtle sitter was feeding it,

Answer 5

http://www.turtlesale.com/turtles1.html its a really good site for info and buying medicine for turtle it does sound to me like an infection of some sort