Urgent Care :: help! shell problems

[starlitskies77]

I got this terrapin 4 years ago; it was originally a class pet but no one could take care of it so i brought it back. Also, not sure if this is relevant but i think that it had suffered from RI before.

Recently, there's been pale yellow/ discoloured patches on his shell and part of the scutes in the middle of the shell is missing, revealing a black rigged and rough surface below. He is active but does not seem to be eating much. Some additional information: Shell length 5.5". I do not have a thermometer, water heater and basking light, and wondering if this could be the reason for the problem? Also, i am reducing the amount of water in the tank for now so it only reaches about the top of his shell -- I'm in school for half the day so I'm not sure if he basks often/ even at all.I am using filtration, tank is in the balcony, not in an area with direct sunlight. There is a basking platform which floats -- he likes to crawl underneath it and maybe the "scratches" on his shell could have come from that? His diet consists of pellets, dried shrimp/ mealworms. The tank is not big enough for his size but I'm currently trying to find a bigger one. Also, I've been going through this site and realised I have been doing a lot of things (basic care for res) wrongly as you can see in the info above -- will fix that! Not sure what the condition is with his shell but could it be shell rot? The discoloured area feels the same as the other parts and is not soft/mushy.

Here are the pictures after dry docking him
http://s26.photobucket.com/user/cheryyl ... sort=3&o=0
http://s26.photobucket.com/user/cheryyl ... sort=3&o=1

[steve]

It's mostly retained scutes. Basically, the turtle grew too fast and didn't have enough time to shed properly. You will need to correct his diet. There is a risk of infection on the overlapping areas. Get a new, soft toothbrush and gently brush under those areas with clean water. If you can, use a disinfectant like Betadine or Hibiclens and dilute it when you do the scrub. Do not try to lift up those pieces.

[TravisL]

Need to change his diet. He needs calcium and the current diet he's probably getting too much protein. Also should be monitoring water temperature and a couple inches of water is not my for an aquatic turtle. All in all, it's good you realize your mistakes after reading this site. Your turtle is missing out on all the basics of turtle care and anyone can be causing issues with his shell

[Kansasslider]

I would highly suggest you change 50% of its diet to Hikari wheat germ pellets. It helps with retained scutes and shedding. Drop the meal worms. I just switched my turtles diet to wheat germ and she just shed some scutes for the first time. And yes your doing just about everything wrong but at least you realize it. Keep in mind turtles are avid swimmers and need a lot of water to swim in.

[starlitskies77]

Thank you for your replies! Will be changing his diet asap; is feeding pellets everyday enough? What kinds of food do i need for it to solve the problem? Also, how long will it take for the correction of the problem (retained scutes i assume?) and how should i go about solving it? As for the dark coloured rigged surface mentioned, what are those? Also, how do i spot for infections? Thank you!

[steve]

You can use pellets everyday but just a little. I'd follow what Kansasslider laid out. The retained scutes is not that bad, but keep it clean. You just need to be patient until there some proper shedding can take place.

As for infections... anything soft or discolored could be a symptom.

I'm not sure what you mean by rigged surface.

[starlitskies77]

These circled areas. Are they the new scutes that are below the retained ones?

http://s26.photobucket.com/user/cheryyl ... g.html?o=0

[Kansasslider]

It looks like new scutes under the retained ones. Is it like holes in the top scutes. Sorry I'm using a phone so I can't really tell from the picture. Does the shell look like this? If so yes that's new scutes your seeing.

[steve]

I dont think it's new scutes, it's just overlapping which is also why it needs to be cleaned/checked regularly.

[Kansasslider]

Ok we are not on the same page. Over lapping meaning retained scutes over new shell? That's what I'm saying.By saying new scutes we are saying new shell. If they are intact are they not just individual scutes? That are named as individual. So that would make them a scute not a shell.

[starlitskies77]

It doesn't look like the ones in the picture where each scute is shedding from the middle, my res's shell has scutes that look scratched and beneath those scutes along the middle part of his shell, there are parts at the sides of those scutes that look chipped off (??)
In this image the second scute from the top, in the middle, does not look complete -- like they're overlapping something else. Not sure if that's the new scute/shell underneath because it seems to be a much darker colour.
http://s26.photobucket.com/user/cheryyl ... g.html?o=2

Also, I'm getting the hikari pellets later on How much should i give a day/week?

[Kansasslider]

They recommend changing 50% of the food you feed to wheat germ. I'm going to leave the shell problems to Steve. I'm confused.

[steve]

I am not sure what is being described (scratched) but the overlapping is retained scutes.