How fix my turtles shell rott.?

Question

I have 2 aquatic turtles, one of them is doing fine. The other is having shell problems. The lower half of his shell seems a little warped, and there are two spots that rotting away. I have a UV light and I feed him a good diet. One thing i've noticed is that he never basks. The other turtle will all the time, but i have never seen the one with the rott get out of the water. I even put an extra rock which really makes it easy but he still wont bask. Yesterday I dropped the water level in the tank down to next to nothing so that he would be forced to bask under the light, and let his shell dry out the spots seem a little better. Is there anything else I can do.

I also scrub his back with a toothbrush every other day.

Answer 1

This sounds like it could be a real problem for the turtle. I would see a vet.

Answer 2

1. The turtle does not have enough calcium and vitamin d, do you have a UVB light, YOU NEED THAT!!!!!!!!!Did you know that their supplies cost hundreds and hundreds of dollars more than the turtle itself!!!!!! Well just taking care of turtles is extremely difficult for a LOT of people because they are VERY high maintenence, no joke. But if you are responsible enough, this is a RES setup.they are very high maintenence and hard to take care of.first read all of this and see if you have this setup, it costs at least $300, and is a regular setup. ************ This is a setup for a red eared slider the most common type of turtle, they get up to 12 inches, but you will see them as babies at a store commonly, so know that they will grow very big************** You will need to get a 50 gallon starter tank and upgrade to a 75 gallon later on when your turtle is over 6 inches...If you can not get that big of a tank right now then for now you can use a huge rubbermaid container filled up with clean warm water 5/6 of the way. The water should be 75-82F, that can be achieved by buying a water heater at the petstore, along with a water filter. Water filters that are best are canister filters, like the Rena xp3 filter which costs $200, but filters very well. Do buy a filter please, even a cheap one at $25, is better then none at all, since turtles are extremely messy and poop-ful (haha). The bottom of the tank should be bare, no gravel because they could choke on that mistaking it for food. On top of the water you need 3 things, 1. a basking dock ( buy a large size zoomed basking dock). 2. you 100% need to buy a basking lamp+bulb, you buy them separatly, then screw the bulb in ( 50 watts) and shine it on the basking dock over a mesh hood( cut a hole out of it and place the light there!). 3. This is very important, you need a uvb light. It is a long thin light, you need to get the actual lamp+ the long skinny bulb. Reptosun 5.0 is the best bulb( together costs $55). Shine that onto the basking dock as well. Turtles need these together because they use the uva for heat, so they stay warm ( the basking site should be 90-95F, not colder) and they need the uvb rays to metabolize calcium and vitamin d3 for a stronger shell ( like you need it for your bones!) The diet for the turtle should be reptomin pellets ( and other nutricuos pellets!) crickets, mealworms, bloodworms, shrimp, and krill. All of this is found dead at the petstore!;) They also need vegetation, get kale, mustard greens, romaine lettuce, and collard greens. Drop all of the food in the tank once a day, and remove any leftover bits after a few hours. By the way ALL of the protien food ( dead food, that was alive once) should be dusted with a calcium supplement ( powder) and you need to get a cuttlebone found in the bird aisle of the petstore and drop it in the water for him to knaw on, keep it there for a while (month) until he eats all of it, then get another. Once all of these things are done your turtle will be pretty happy!

Answer 3

On top of what the other poster said - you need no less than two basking spots - one for each turtle. One is keeping the other from basking. A separate aquarium would be even better. I can almost guarantee that with good vet care and it's own home it will thrive...:-)

You mention UV light - make sure it's a good brand. Not all UVB lights are created equal. Some decay very quickly. The brands to go with:

Fluorescent tubes:

*Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0
*Iguana Light 5.0
*Exoterra 8.0
*Arcadia 5.0 (UK)

...or:

Mercury Vapor bulbs:

*Mega Ray EB (external ballast)(Very little heat emits from these and IMHO...the best thing PERIOD)
*Mega Ray SB (Self Ballast heat/UVB combo)
*T Rex 160 watt flood active UV heat bulb (same as above)
Mega Rays from here - http://www.reptileuv.com

The one I would promote of the second and third one of the Merc vapors would be the MR SB one. T-Rex was given permission by the guy who designed the bulb so it's exactly the same thing...different packaging. I would stick with purchasing from the guy who designed them and uses the money he makes off of his design to rehabilitate reptiles. Many of the other bulbs can be purchased at http://www.reptiledirect.com for a more reasonable price than the pet stores. Stay away from anything that is a spiral or compact. There are medical issues with those and eye damage. Once you provide these lights for your ig...set them in the 6" - 8" range from their back for the florescent tubes and 12-18" on the Mega Rays. Any farther and the UVB drops of so much that they don't do any good.

Answer 4

Shell rot is a bacterial infection that often caused by poor water quality and aggravated by stress.
A vet really needs to see the turtle, and only a reptile vet. They will dig out the infection (debride it) and then give you what you need. Sometimes silvadine is used. I treated with weak betadine dips to disinfect my wood turtle's shell and cleaned her infections, it took awhile- 6 mos or so (she hated every moment) until I began to see a grey material grow into the wounds- a layer of keratin will cover the holes and the infection is done. No more.
BUT...the best thing you can do, go to a reptile vet; do it right.

Answer 5

There are several forms of shell rot, but the basic plan is the same for most of them.

1. Make sure the cares are rock solid- good tank size, good temps, etc. Try http://www.redearslider.com for good care outlines.

2. Stop the daily scrubbing. Instead, only scrub if you see something you think will come off. Swab the shell, especially the affected areas, with Betadine Solution. Let it dry about an hour (with the turtle in a war, quiet place with something like some wadded paper to hide in), and return it to the tank.

3. Stop using rocks. They abrade the shell and let germs in. Driftwood is great, plastic ramps are good, etc.

Besides the above site, try also http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Answer 6

Do not confuse shell rot with soft shell- they are two separate and unrelated conditions. Soft shell is caused by lack of calcium and/or UVB light.
Shell rot is a fungus, that presents at whitish spots that gradually corrode the shell. Here's what I have done to successfully treat it:
-Remove the turtle from water, allowing it to dry completely.
-Scrape the loose fungus out of the pits in the shell.
-Apply neosporin ointment to the spots, and leave the turtle out of the water for a few hours.
-Repeat at least once a week until the symptoms subside.
-Add novaqua to the water as a preventative.

Answer 7

Your best bet would be to find a decent veterinarian, and take the turtle in. The vet will probably have medicine that would help the shell, and help keep anything worse from happening.

A vet would also be the best person to be asking about this matter.