General Care Discussion :: Shell Scutes Building - Not shedding?

[jason2713]

Hey, so I've noticed my 3 RES have different colored shells than some of the turtles on here. Almost like there are multiple layers of scutes until you get to the bottom of them?

Pictures




Any advice is welcome.

I feed them ZooMed Gormet Aquatic Turtle Food if that tells you anything.

[steve]

It's fungus. It makes shedding very difficult but they should shed, however fungus will grow on the fresh scutes as well. If it's preventing a shed, do a light/gentle cleaning and look for any retained or peeling scutes. Make sure that they do not trap water/debris underneath as that can cause infections.

[jason2713]

should I dry dock them? I have a UVA/UVB light in their basking areas along with a 100Watt heat lamp. I'm getting some water testers to make sure the pH, nitrate, nitrite, and ammonia levels are ok.

What do I wash them with?

[steve]

The most effective thing is some silver sulfadiazine cream and the setup has to be perfect so they don't get reinfected. Most other methods don't seem to work.

[jason2713]

dang, that stuff requires me to go to the vet. sucks.

[jason2713]

Going to do a history thread on this like this post did to maybe help someone else in the future:
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=10839


So after reading some of the posts on here, I decided first and foremost I needed to get a handle on their environment. I thought I had that done in spades, here is a thread I posted of my current set up:
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=33751&hilit=jason2713


I purchased water testing kits for: nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, pH

I noticed my nitrates were off the charts and my pH was a bit low (6.3), everything else seemed within normal limits. In my tank, I have these fake root systems and a log (plastic). I had them so that I could buy sucker fish to eat algae. They didn't last long, but I didn't take out these plastic pieces because I liked the way the looked. As I was cleaning the tank, and lifting these up, they were completely filled with crap (literally, turtle poop was just gushing out). It clouded my entire set up so badly, I had to just empty the entire tank and toss these useless pieces. Unless you're going to clean these things out all the time, I'd recommend not having them. Just my 2 cents.

Anyways, now my tanks has all new water, and I scrubbed the crap out the sides. I have the calcium deposits which is annoying. i think its calcium, its white chalky substance on the sides, anyone have a tip to get that crap off?

Anyways here they are as of 10/18/15 - I applied Betadine very, very liberally all over them and docked them with a heat light for 12 hours. I also have Povidone Iodine solution I can try. I'll have to get them to the vet to get the silver sulfadiazine cream. I will also buy neosporin and apply that.


Sofia


Bruno - she's huge.


Red


Tike



I'm going to clean their cage weekly (was doing every 3 weeks), including their Eheim 2180 filter. I'll keep scrubbing down the sides and vacuuming their poop.

I'll post progress pics ever so often. Any suggestions or questions let me know.

[steve]

good luck with the treatment! I usually use white vinegar to clean the sides of the tank, but also a magic eraser on the real stubborn material.

[jason2713]

I have 4 turtles total as you can see, 2 of which are almost 10yrs old, the other 2 are about 2 years old. I had to separate the two 10yr old turtles because they kept attacking one another. And now I'm seeing the other 10 yr old attacking the 2 yr olds, she used to be so docile. I'm kinda over the constant fighting among them all. There is almost no break in action, its just constant and that's not why I bought turtles. I bought them because its relaxing to hear the water and see them hang out.

Any thoughts? Suggestions? It's getting cold where I am, so I'd feel bad just abandoning them but the 2x 10 yr olds are just too aggressive to keep. I'm over it.

[jason2713]

Here is the action.

https://youtu.be/SX_kUSS_Mfg

[jason2713]

So this is the smaller of the 10yr olds I had in solitary confinement for about a year now. She was put there because she was acting aggressive to the other 10yr old.

I tried to see how she'd act, and of course, she's aggressive too. The 2 yr old could literally be on the other side of the tank (which this tank is 6ft long!) and she actively comes across the tank to attack her.

We have the Gun Powder State Park about 3 miles from here. Probably dumping the two 10yr olds there over the weekend. I'm done with them. Sick of dealing with it.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ty2iI6kAjU4

[steve]

Those are pretty nasty bites. As much of a hassle it is, dumping them is not right either... you have responsibilities as their keeper. There is bit of algae on the silicone as well, you should inspect it to make sure none of it is lifting.

[jason2713]

Would you keep a cat that gradually got more and more aggressive towards you and the other cats? I will try to find them another keeper, but who the heck is going to adopt turtles like these? I'm not sure why anyone would want to deal with this. I'm going to try to find someone, but this is like trying to a pit bull a new home after it's been mauling your other animals, and turns on the owner also.

[jason2713]

And this was not for lack of trying either. I have spent nearly $2500 on environmental upgrades, food, chemicals, etc. I am dealing with their fungus problem (which is going well by the way). I think once turtles turn aggressive, there's no going back. And its like a coin flip if it happens. I'm just 3 outta 4, so my luck is pretty bad.

[steve]

I understand the difficulty of the situation and the expense. I agree that once they are aggressive, you can only separate them.

[jason2713]

ok so, we have a much better situation than what was happening just 2 weeks ago.

Week of Oct 14 - 21 - I put betadine on their shell using a Q tip each night, and dry docked them for 12 hours each night.
I cleaned their tanks relentlessly using a razor to scrape the sides of the calcium build up.
I keep the filter clean by rinsing everything every weekend including media. I have the Eheim 2180.
I am adjusting their feeding schedule from every other day to 3 specific days each week. That way its less feedings for the filter to clean, and puts them on a schedule. Feeding them every other day would result in 3 feedings some weeks and 4 feedings other weeks. This keeps it 3 feedings per week no matter what.
I test their water every 4 days.

Oct 21 - 28
I am doing the betadine every 3 days.
Feeding cycle staying same 3 days.
Continue to use a razor to get calcium deposits off the sides of the equarium

Hope these videos come out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaqpXXT8lC4
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W3n1uiJQ_lk