My boyfriend and I have had two RES turtles for two years and one has grown much faster than the other. They were in the same tank until one day I saw the smaller one had chips on the back of his shell...I immediately researched what to do and have been dry docking him for a week with rehydration for 30 minutes twice a day. He has both a basking and UVB light over the dry dock for 12 hours a day and after rehydration, I apply betadine with an extra soft toothbrush to the chipped areas. However, I just noticed that his shell is maybe a bit softer than normal...it may just be me over-worrying about him though, and the areas around the chipped parts are getting darker. I am worried about him and don't know what to do. My boyfriend thinks that I can not take him to a vet because he is not "legal" size yet, but I am worried if I don't take him, I will not be able to provide the correct care to nurse him back to health. I have read up on it some more and other people are saying that you should only dry dock a younger turtle for a few hours a day. Does anyone have any experience with this or know what I can do? I have an appointment with a vet on Monday morning (today is Saturday).
Here are some photos...hope you guys can see!
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