Urgent Care :: Oddly colored skin/swelling

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Post Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2018 8:01 pm   Oddly colored skin/swelling

Hello, everyone! I'm here today because my turtle is having an odd issue, but I don't know what to do since there aren't any herps in my area
I'll include a photo down below!

How big is your turtle? - about 9 inches long from the tip of her nose to her butt (fully extended neck)
How long have you had it? - At least four years, maybe more

What is the water temperature? - It usually hovers around 70-75
Did you use a thermometer? - Yes
Are you using a water heater? - Ours recently died and we haven't had a chance to replace it, but we check the temp regularly and it's been in a safe range
How much water is in there? - around 40-60 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? - No
Are you using any filtration? - Yes

What is the basking temperature? - I'm not sure tbh
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? A large stone we found, washed, and sanded to make smooth
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? - We bought some fish recently, but due to the size of the tank she hasn't caught and eaten them yet so we've been feeding her Tetra food sticks
When was the last time your turtle ate? - we feed her every morning and night with a few sticks

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? - about 100 Gal
Is the tank near a window? - Yes!
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? - Yup

Have you read the Basic Care section? - Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? - yes, found nothing :C

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? - She seems happy and comfortable, I just don't know what the problem is.

My fears are that the fish we put in the tank may have brought some bacteria, and I don't know what I'd do if that's the case, due to the lack of vets that handle reptiles in my area.
The photo is low-quality, and I apologize for that.

Right now we're trying to set her up into a more comfortable tank with heaters, better gravel, better perches, & generally a better environment for her. She was in a very small tank for a long time due to issues with places to put it, and financial problems, but she's in a large tank now, with undergravel filtration systems, and perches.
I don't know what to do, and I'm very worried for her. This issue has been occurring since we got the fish (about two and a half weeks ago) but has never happened before hand.
If you have ANY tips or info, I'd love to hear you out!

Image
vglyd0q
 
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Post Posted: Mon Nov 26, 2018 9:52 pm   Re: Oddly colored skin/swelling

Is this occurring on both sides? It could be that she's overweight. Bacteria could also cause some pinking coloring on the skin, but more reddish colors should be seen and evaluated by a herp vet.
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steve
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 4:36 am   Re: Oddly colored skin/swelling

It's only happening on one side, so I don't know what to do.
There are no herpetologists in my town, so I feel really helpless honestly. I have a few reptile shops, should I take her in there and see if they'll have anything for it?
vglyd0q
 
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Post Posted: Sat Dec 01, 2018 5:53 am   Re: Oddly colored skin/swelling

Have you felt for any eggs? Does she have trouble retracting into her shell?
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 8:44 pm   Re: Oddly colored skin/swelling

She hasn't had any access to other turts, so I don't think she's gonna have eggs. I'll definitely look up how to do that, and check. The swelling has started on the other side on her butt end, but none on her front. She's having no trouble retracting her head & front arms into her shell, but due to the swelling her back legs are having a little bit of trouble.

We got rid of the fish and moved her back into a smaller tank with new water, and we're going to go to a reptile center tomorrow to try to find out of there's any medicine for it
vglyd0q
 
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Post Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 4:18 am   Re: Oddly colored skin/swelling

Feel for eggs : https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=ho ... ORM=VIREHT


A turtle will still produce eggs and need to lay them even without a male ,just be infertile.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 2:07 am   Re: Oddly colored skin/swelling

Thank you ^^
I've felt, and she doesn't seem to be expecting eggs. I've never seen her lay any eggs, so I'm mildly concerned about that. I'm going to look more into their egg-laying cycles so I know more of what to expect. Thank you for bringing this to my attention!!

We've added anti-bacterial water conditioner to her tank and thoroughly washed her shell & gently wiped down all of her exposed soft skin in warm water. The water conditioner we used is supposed to kill all negative bacteria that could cause infections. It said it was safe to use while the turtle is in the water, so we put her back into her larger tank so she had more space to swim & a basking spot.
So far there have been no changes, but we only used the water conditioner a few hours ago. I'll keep y'all posted!
vglyd0q
 
Posts: 5
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Post Posted: Sun Dec 09, 2018 11:58 pm   Re: Oddly colored skin/swelling

We've been doing a long round of anti-bacterial as said above & so far it's working!!!
Her swelling & bad pigmentation is going down, the area is in general looking very good compared to how it looked before
Apart from that there's not much else to say, so I'll give another update when there are more changes :)
vglyd0q
 
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