Urgent Care :: several 'holes' in my Salsa's plastron

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Post Posted: Thu Aug 18, 2005 10:51 pm   several 'holes' in my Salsa's plastron

Hi, I have a 6-7" male I aquired from Petco about a year ago. He is in a 50 gallon tank (78-80 degrees) with a larger female and a little squirt, that I think is another female. These were primarily cared for by my daughter who just married and left them with me. I clean the tank weekly,the tank has a pump filter. I feed them ReptoMin pellets, and monthly feeder fish or crickets, and the occasional veggie or fruit. There are two floating docks, and a lamp on them. It is a regular floodlight lamp, not a UVA or UVB. Salsa basks often, eats well, is in otherwise great appearance and health. While taking them each out and looking them over tonight, I noticed that he has 4-5 spots on his plastron. Initially they looked like abrasions, or scrapes. When I looked closer they actually seem to be holes. The rest of the plastron is not soft, is in good shape. Could this be a vitamin deficiency? Perhaps calcium? I do have an excellent vet here in town that caters to reptiles. He also charges a fortune. I would like the opportunity to try and treat Salasa first before hauling him to the doc. Could he need a different light, and additional calcium to the food sticks, which have calcium and vit C? Thanks so much, Julie in Lodi
bookers2
 
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Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 12:09 am   

really like that name. I am not sure (personally) what caused the holes, but I am sure you should get a UVB light. I am not so sure about turtles, but humans need at least 15 minutes of UV light a day. It helps provide US with vitamins so i am sure it works the same for them.

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tini
 
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Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 1:47 am   

1, you need a bigger tank. 10 gals per inch of turtle. should have 60-70 gal minimum.

2, the majority of his diet should be veggies--check the stickies in feeding/diet for acceptable foods

3, UVB light is absolutley necessary for healthy shell growth. Considering you have a shell problem on your hands, I would strongly recomend you getting one immediatley-- leave it on as long as you leave the basking light on: 9-12 hours a day

Post pictures of the holes, some of the more experienced res owners may be able to help, but they'll definitly want pics.
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bradhart
 
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Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 2:02 am   

actually, bookers needs a bigger tank since there are 2 other turts in there. injuries to plastron could be from an abrasive basking area, the tank's substrate and what ever decorations are in there. an overstocked tank does increase the opportunity for injuries, not to mention aggressive behavior.

how much water is in there? how deep are the holes? damage to the shell can lead to various forms of infection and should be looked at by an experienced vet. quarantine might be an option, especially if these injuries are recent and of unknown origin.

are these holes accompanied by odors, fluids, or colors (there should only be yellow and brown markings)? behavior changes, lethargy and excessive basking? can you post a picture?
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 2:09 am   

also, the uvb light or unfiltered sunlight allows RES to produce vit d3 which is required for the metabolization of dietary calcium. you need both not just one of those.... cuttlebone is a highly recommended choice for calcium, just remove the hard backing (search the forum for more detailed info about cuttlebone if you need to)
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Aug 19, 2005 2:13 pm   

Please post pics if you can. Your turtles do need a UVB light along with a heat lamp.

About the holes--you said they were only on the plastron (the carapace looks good)? How big and deep are they? No softness in the area immediately surrounding them? Is there any "pattern" to them (same area on opposite sides, for example)? Is there any odor coming from them?

What kind of basking area does the turtle use? If it's abrasive, he could easily wear his shell down when he moves around on it (I noticed this happening to mine once).
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
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Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 1:31 pm   

Ocassional veggie? Are the pellets their staple diet?

27 Turtles. 6 Tortoises.
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JessicaTS
 
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Post Posted: Sat Aug 20, 2005 3:38 pm   

pellets are the main source of protein, but the diet consist mainly of pellets is too much protien (especially for older turts) Lots of people feed pellets every second day, and veggies on the other days
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