Urgent Care :: I feel so hopeless ! New RES owner.

[Kansasslider]

Some of my turtles shed skin also. I don't think its something you need to be concerned about.

[misfihts]

Okay thank you guys ! I was really concerned I wasn't sure if they were already too neglected, they seem happier now , my big one is finally basking , the little one is still a bit shy so if someone moves he's instantly off it .

What about their shells , they both seem to have some whitish discolor and like , gold flakes ? Could that be fungus ?

[steve]

Golden color is usually shedding, do you have a picture of it dry?

[misfihts]

No , but both are actually on the plack basking so I can snap a picture really quick.

[misfihts]

My little one got pushed off by my big one lol so I could only get a picture of hers but both look similar http://i57.tinypic.com/24xkjh5.jpg . I just want to be sure that their shells are okay .

[steve]

It looks OK. There was some irregular growth/pyramiding before but not severe. The white spots might be fungus, hard to tell at this point.

[misfihts]

Is there anything I can do for the fungus or treat even if there isn't any just in case ? Hopefully this week I'll be near a pet store instead of relying on Walmart since the closest one to me doesn't really carry much

[devilduck]

I would just observe and make sure the white areas do not expand. The only way to really treat fungus is medicine from a vet.

[steve]

Can you post a close up pic and thats not under bright light?

[misfihts]

Sure , let me grab a rascal and get a close up , I observed my little guy troys belly today to see and I wasn't sure how to tell if its fine or not

[misfihts]

http://i62.tinypic.com/huq744.jpg here's troys , his is worse than belles , she jumped in when I tried to get her and started clawing me when I was taking the picture http://i61.tinypic.com/3305qfn.jpg , I feel so bad for these babies , they seemed like they just weren't treated right so I want to be sure I don't fail them.

[Kansasslider]

If it is fungus there are a lot of different ways to treat it number one is they or it would have to be dry docked.Just Google how to treat aquatic turtle fungus and you will see other are many reccomendations as to what works. No need to go to a vet unless its severe. I have never seen it in person and pictures can be unclear so I'm not the one to tell you if it is or isn't fungus I'm just yelling you its a common problem probably due to poor water conditions and maybe diet. Oops now I will look at your picture:-)

[Kansasslider]

Looks like shedding to me. Is it fuzzy? Fungus is usually fuzzy like a cotton ball from what I have read but I will let Steve chime in. He is after all been doing this a lot longer than myself.

[misfihts]

It doesn't seem fuzzy just kind of there , its hard to tell on belle , I work with her daily trying to get her use to people a bit since the woman we got them from said her kids showed no interest I feel like they were just left alone until feeding time she said she mostly fed them mealworms and they got so use to that , I try to feed them as much veggies as I can so they can get a variety . I checked Google and saw some ideas but wanted to be sure of some of the recommends , there was one about scrubbing the fungus off with a tooth brush and picking off the rest and using peroxide on it , wasn't certain about that it sounded painful to me how they described it. I plan on doing a water change tomorrow when belle is basking I'll try to get a better look when her shell is dry . troy is pretty easy since he doesn't mind to be held

[Kansasslider]

Your doing a great job and they will be tip top in short order. Yea there are a lot of cures for fungus out there for sure! I think at least the large one is just shedding. I hear ya. Its OK everything will be fine! The thing is your trying to be s good turtle keeper and your doing great. They won't die at least not soon. He he!