Urgent Care

Hi guys,

I recently noticed some brown, raised spots on Ryanna's skin. Now, she has been gravid for about 6 weeks, so she's been trashing around her tank, trying to escape, diving from her basking spot into the water, etc... The first spots I noticed were on the bottom of her head. I had caught her before trying to reach into her basking bulb, so I thought maybe she had burnt herself slightly and didn't give it much importance. However, a couple of days ago I found another spot on her little arm and today I saw one on her tail. Now I'm not sure if she's hurt herself when splashing around her tank, burned herself or if it could be a fungus. She's eating and basking normally. I just spent $200 on a vet visit and x-rays to make sure she wasn't egg bound, and while the health of my baby always comes before money, I was hoping I could get some input from you guys before taking her in again.

Here are some pictures. This is the best I could do cause she was really not having it! But I hope it helps. The spots are slightly raised, but do not feel fuzzy or slimy. They do not appear to hurt.

How big is your turtle? About 7 inches long
How long have you had it? 5 years

What is the water temperature? Just raised it to 80
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? 60 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? Not sure
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? Egg crate and acrylic
Is there a UVB light? yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Green leafs, carrots, dried shrimp, reptomin, occasional fruit.
When was the last time your turtle ate? Today

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 60 gallons
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? No

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

Ryanna and I will greatly appreciate any information you can provide!!

My female RES also gets these once in awhile. I don't have an answer to what these are (callouses?) but they seem to go away by themselves. I'd try cleaning the area with diluted betadine, applying some neosporin and dry docking for a little bit. When was the last time you did a water change?

I did a partial water change yesterday. The last full one was about 4 weeks ago.

I will pick up some betadine and neosporin today. Will dry docking for a couple hours be enough?

I think so, enough that the neosporin has been absorbed (or wipe off any excess).

Okay, I will do just that. Thank you so much for your help, Steve!

My girl also gets these spots sometimes, they do go away with some diluted betadine and dry docking. The last time it happened, I left the spot alone to see if it would heal by itself, it did.

Thanks for the reply cristina! I'm glad to know I'm not the only one to make these "discoveries".

Reading this, I was just saying the same thing to myself, steve! :wink:

I wasn't completely sure I was doing the right thing... but she's such a good sport and makes it so much easier for me :msgreen:

These days I'm trying to figure out how much more could she keep those eggs in. I'm pretty positive she's gravid, she displays exactly the same behaviour yellowtrickstr mentioned, but when I took her outside two weekends ago she just walked relentlessly and since then the weather has been too cold. Right now she's basking 3 feet away from me and probably wondering why I'm so insensitive to her needs... Can't help you, girl...

This happened to me a few winters ago, I was just relieved to see a couple of eggs in the water.

Hopefully she'll do what's best for her, eventually.

Urgent Care :: Brown, sore-like spots on my turtle's skin.

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