General Care Discussion :: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Wed Oct 31, 2018 11:52 pm   Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

I adopted a 5inch male RES from a neighbour recently, and his conditions weren't optimal at his last home.

Recently I've noticed some silvery spots on his shell, not sure if it's something I should be concerned about, or is it just shedding? I think my turtle has never shedded before as he didn't have any lighting in his previous setup. The spots are only visible under water, and they shimmer quite a bit? When I take him out of his tank, you can't really see the spots anymore.

Also his shell isn't soft and there aren't any pits. The silver spots don't go away when I scrub them too. No bad smell as well.
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Lishan93
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 3:18 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

Take your turtle out the water and dry him off ( pat dry do not rub dry) with a towel softly then let him dry some more , then take a photo once totally dry. This will tell us a lot more whats going on with the keratin layer "not when wet please. The shinny look in water may be air trapped under the keratin layer if starting a shed , that's normal if so. Dry will show us the scutes that may be loosen if it's starting a shed. If you see any scutes that look like there are coming off by the edges when drying "do not" try and remove ! You can cause damage to the shell and or bleeding , they will fall off on there own in time. Some healthy turtles are fast within a week will come off and other takes months to do a shed. Also did you see questions about the water in your other post. If something other than shedding those answers can help us along with photos of setup for an more helpful answer . A picture from top and a side view of tank will help a lot , water conditions are directly tied to a turtles shell health. Once you got the pictures " when totally dry" he can go back in his home .
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 4:41 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

litefoot wrote:Take your turtle out the water and dry him off ( pat dry do not rub dry) with a towel softly then let him dry some more , then take a photo once totally dry. This will tell us a lot more whats going on with the keratin layer "not when wet please. The shinny look in water may be air trapped under the keratin layer if starting a shed , that's normal if so. Dry will show us the scutes that may be loosen if it's starting a shed. If you see any scutes that look like there are coming off by the edges when drying "do not" try and remove ! You can cause damage to the shell and or bleeding , they will fall off on there own in time. Some healthy turtles are fast within a week will come off and other takes months to do a shed. Also did you see questions about the water in your other post. If something other than shedding those answers can help us along with photos of setup for an more helpful answer . A picture from top and a side view of tank will help a lot , water conditions are directly tied to a turtles shell health. Once you got the pictures " when totally dry" he can go back in his home .


Thanks, I'll try to take a picture tonight after I get home from work!
Lishan93
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 4:42 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

:wink:
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 9:18 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

litefoot wrote::wink:


Hi I took some pics of my RES. When he's dry those white stuff is still on his shell, making him look really dry.

I'm worried it may be a fungal infection. I pressed his shell and it's still super hard, and still no smell. Please let me know if there's anything wrong with him :/

And correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems like he has A LOT of retained scutes... poor guy :cry:
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Lishan93
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 10:19 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

Agree hasn't had a good shed in some time. Retained scutes which has trapped dirty water silt under them for some time. This created the microscopic growth under them to spread into fungus you see now. Depending on what part of the world you live in can you get some silver sulfadiazine cream ? May have to see a vet ? It's the best thing for fungus and turtles . OTC type of anything just takes too long allowing the fungus to get worst then … Type in search box above silver sulfadiazine for use and or fungus. Details this site recommends are there or follow vets method. Use this time since he's under your control to create the best habitat to help him. Also search here for a better diet will help. Water conditions are very important , even clear water can be harmful and even toxic. This starts out at the microscopic level so the water parameters are very important. Lishan this is going to take some time , no over night fix here. Be patient observe well correct the setup and diet , use the cream as directed. It will clear up the fungus. Then over a few good sheds (years) the shell "may" correct itself . He wants to shed but the thick retained scutes to get rid of are making it harder for him to shed. That's were a better habitat will help. Lots of reading for you to do and we will be here to help you understand with any questions. A turtle his size should be on 50-70% veggies every day with a well varied , good mixed and nutritious protein every other day. Turtles at every stage of it life has / requires a different diet. Since in your hands now he has a much better chance at a good happy and healthy life ahead , keep observing.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 11:09 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

litefoot wrote:Agree hasn't had a good shed in some time. Retained scutes which has trapped dirty water silt under them for some time. This created the microscopic growth under them to spread into fungus you see now. Depending on what part of the world you live in can you get some silver sulfadiazine cream ? May have to see a vet ? It's the best thing for fungus and turtles . OTC type of anything just takes too long allowing the fungus to get worst then … Type in search box above silver sulfadiazine for use and or fungus. Details this site recommends are there or follow vets method. Use this time since he's under your control to create the best habitat to help him. Also search here for a better diet will help. Water conditions are very important , even clear water can be harmful and even toxic. This starts out at the microscopic level so the water parameters are very important. Lishan this is going to take some time , no over night fix here. Be patient observe well correct the setup and diet , use the cream as directed. It will clear up the fungus. Then over a few good sheds (years) the shell "may" correct itself . He wants to shed but the thick retained scutes to get rid of are making it harder for him to shed. That's were a better habitat will help. Lots of reading for you to do and we will be here to help you understand with any questions. A turtle his size should be on 50-70% veggies every day with a well varied , good mixed and nutritious protein every other day. Turtles at every stage of it life has / requires a different diet. Since in your hands now he has a much better chance at a good happy and healthy life ahead , keep observing.


Is it really fungus? Or a bad shed that he's having? I wanna be sure before applying the cream to his shell. I read about someone else's turtle having a similar problem, and the consensus seems to be that the turtle is simply shedding: http://www.turtleforum.com/forum/upload ... condition/

Right now he's on veggies every day, and pellets every 3 days. I recently bought the Koi wheatgerm pellets to supplement his diet, and will also be feeding him some blueberries as they're high in Vitamin E.

As for tank setup, he's currently in a 30 gal (yes it's too small but I'll upgrade soon as my pay comes in), with a filtration system for up to 80 gal. I change 50% of his water weekly. His basking platform is the penn plax turtle topper, so he does have a place to dry off completely.

I hope he gets better soon :cry:
Lishan93
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 12:00 pm   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

I can not hold your turtle in my hands as you can not even the other forum only look at a picture. A vet can / also run test if he/she feels a need to. As I stated he wants to shed yes but with the retained scutes and the shinny area you see under water only tells me trapped air and old water under the keratin layer. I do see in my opinion some fungus yes early stage but still there. You can wait like some to see if he does shed the retained scutes or not which may help remove what I see . May and if ! Turtle in the wild do shed when a shell problem , not just to grow. This guy is a living captive animal under your care and had a hard life before you got him. The retained scutes , poor diet and what you said his habitat was . Most have to wait for a fungus to get worst before they realize its even a fungus starting. The time lost will make life harder for him and he may even retain those sctues even longer? Infection/fungus under will keep going , that will spread into it's bone causing shell rot and some infections go into the blood. If gets to that point most cases are fatal. I gave my opinion using my 55 years in this hobby it's the best I can do . You are welcome to use a post from another forum about a different turtle if it's what you wanted to read or hear. That's your call , good luck for the both of you. To me it's all about the turtle offering it the best care and environment so it has a long happy , healthy life which for a RES can be 50 years if offered that. My Piggley is even in my "will" since he will out live me. I had losses when Hurricane Katrina took my six turtles all over 35 years old two in there 40's "from babies" that's a bad feeling with that kind of death and that feeling never goes away . Why I care so much. Sorry I did not tell you what you wanted to hear maybe try a third forum too your call.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 12:16 pm   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

litefoot wrote:I can not hold your turtle in my hands as you can not even the other forum only look at a picture. A vet can / also run test if he/she feels a need to. As I stated he wants to shed yes but with the retained scutes and the shinny area you see under water only tells me trapped air and old water under the keratin layer. I do see in my opinion some fungus yes early stage but still there. You can wait like some to see if he does shed the retained scutes or not which may help remove what I see . May and if ! Turtle in the wild do shed when a shell problem , not just to grow. This guy is a living captive animal under your care and had a hard life before you got him. The retained scutes , poor diet and what you said his habitat was . Most have to wait for a fungus to get worst before they realize its even a fungus starting. The time lost will make life harder for him and he may even retain those sctues even longer? Infection/fungus under will keep going , that will spread into it's bone causing shell rot and some infections go into the blood. If gets to that point most cases are fatal. I gave my opinion using my 55 years in this hobby it's the best I can do . You are welcome to use a post from another forum about a different turtle if it's what you wanted to read or hear. That's your call , good luck for the both of you. To me it's all about the turtle offering it the best care and environment so it has a long happy , healthy life which for a RES can be 50 years if offered that. My Piggley is even in my "will" since he will out live me. I had losses when Hurricane Katrina took my six turtles all over 35 years old two in there 40's "from babies" that's a bad feeling with that kind of death and that feeling never goes away . Why I care so much. Sorry I did not tell you what you wanted to hear maybe try a third forum too your call.


Hope you didnt take it personally, and I'm sorry if I offended you. It's not about what I want to hear. I'm just a worried first time turtle keeper and was just researching on the topic by seeing what others had to say about their turtles who seem to be suffering from the same problem as well. I was just putting it here in case others had an opinion on this as well.. Like you said, no one can actually see my turtle, so how can anyone be sure? Hence my research to gather as much info on this issue as I can.

But thank you for taking the time to reply to my questions, I really do appreciate it. I'll continue to watch him closely and hopefully his condition will improve. Thanks!
Lishan93
 
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Post Posted: Thu Nov 01, 2018 12:43 pm   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

No I did not and vice-versa to you. It's about the turtles to me ! Now he's under your care he has a chance from what you said about his past. I understand researching but the warn / wet environments turtles (RES's) need and how messy they are things happen fast. To catch something early is not a problem and is "simple" to fix. Some just keep looking/ researching until things get worst and in too many cases not treatable even for a Herp Vet. Seen more loss in real life at the center I volunteer at because too much time was lost for a good outcome. Also on this forum the losses , it all hurts ! Hope you use info from this forum and suggestions I made will be used to help you turtle. Please don't wait to long for correction's needed on his environment and diet to be made . Even if he does finally shed those retaining scutes and some of that early fungus come's off please observe well it can and will return in time without any treatment to kill it , will come back in time even worst.
litefoot
 
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Post Posted: Fri Nov 02, 2018 11:07 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

Too early for me to tell, but could be a bit of bacteria. Some rough shedding might make the shell abrasive, and that might be what we are seeing. Keep working on the shedding and post back if there are any changes. Fungus/bacteria like to multiply, so you would notice it when it happens.
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steve
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Post Posted: Sun Nov 04, 2018 8:53 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

steve wrote:Too early for me to tell, but could be a bit of bacteria. Some rough shedding might make the shell abrasive, and that might be what we are seeing. Keep working on the shedding and post back if there are any changes. Fungus/bacteria like to multiply, so you would notice it when it happens.


Thanks Steve. I've been checking on his shell this past couple of days and it doesn't seem to have spread. I also found a couple of transparent thin scutes floating in his tank. Is it normal to shed this way instead of a whole scute at once? It's like breaking off in small pieces instead of one whole scute.
Lishan93
 
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Post Posted: Tue Nov 06, 2018 12:57 pm   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

Ideally, it's larger pieces but the fact that there's shedding is good news.
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 7:59 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

steve wrote:Ideally, it's larger pieces but the fact that there's shedding is good news.


It's been a while, but my turt finally shed a full scute! Really excited and just wanted to thank both Steve and Litefoot for helping me out with great advice. Hopefully my turtle continues shedding and gets healthier soon!

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Lishan93
 
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Post Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2019 10:15 am   Re: Shiny silver spots on turtle's shell

That's good. Since you adopted your 5" male he now has a better home and will over time show more improvements. Nothing happens fast in turtles. Fine tune his diet even more that will go a long way with shell health. You by looking at different photo's may of noticed yours has an irregular shell pattern which makes it a little harder to have an easy shed. A well controlled diet can help. A turtle that size should be on 50-70% veggies and protein every other day. Yes for some turtles veggies are hard for them to accept but just like a child you must still offer for a good diet. If yours don't like veggies look on forum for the jello shot receipt could help with that. Also there's been in the past few years research on wheat germ for shell health. For the past 8 months I added it for Piggley's protein side of his diet and have seen a noticeable difference. May help yours too especially with the scute imperfections. I use https://www.amazon.com/Hikari-17-6-Ounc ... m+koi+food
Look for a small bag and maybe try , it does not happen over night but I have found it's a good mix being only 32% protein for Piggley's balanced , mixed , varied , nutritious diet and he likes it. Not even in the wild all turtles have perfect scutes but in captivity we can help in the diets we offer them to help have an easier shed. You will find in time sheds do not always happen every year. Captive turtles sometimes shed every other year ! So a full correction on the shell may take a long time but will correct itself then have full easy sheds with his type of pattern on the scutes.
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