Box turtle with shell infection, help please

[Dutch box turtles]

Dear all, I am a box turtle owner from The Netherlands with 8 Eastern box turtles of which one has been losing color for about half a year, it went gradually and it started with a new enclosure, where humidy was higher than in my old enclosure. Besides the color fading, there are also parts of the carapax where there color changed as you can see on the picture. My vet does not have much experience with turtles and we tried an antifungal for cats and dogs for 2 weeks but it did not seem to go through the keratin layer. I have also tried canestan cream and mizonazol cream which are actually meant for human fungal infections but again these do not seem to get to the fungus or whatever it is. How can we best treat this animal with the keratin layer still being intact? Can it also be something other than a fungal infection? Any food I can safely give here with antimycotic effects? Thanks for your help. All the best from Europe, Bianca

 

[Dutch box turtles]

Dear all, I am a box turtle owner from The Netherlands with 8 Eastern box turtles of which one has been losing color for about half a year, it went gradually and it started with a new enclosure, where humidy was higher than in my old enclosure. Besides the color fading, there are also parts of the carapax where there color changed as you can see on the picture (one is before and one after it started). My vet does not have much experience with turtles and we tried an antifungal for cats and dogs for 2 weeks but it did not seem to go through the keratin layer. I have also tried canestan cream and mizonazol cream which are actually meant for human fungal infections but again these do not seem to get to the fungus or whatever it is. How can we best treat this animal with the keratin layer still being intact? Can it also be something other than a fungal infection? Any food I can safely give here with antimycotic effects? Thanks for your help. All the best from Europe, BiancaView attachment 146215 View attachment 146216 View attachment 146216

 

[ascott]

Dear all, I am a box turtle owner from The Netherlands with 8 Eastern box turtles of which one has been losing color for about half a year, it went gradually and it started with a new enclosure, where humidy was higher than in my old enclosure. Besides the color fading, there are also parts of the carapax where there color changed as you can see on the picture (one is before and one after it started). My vet does not have much experience with turtles and we tried an antifungal for cats and dogs for 2 weeks but it did not seem to go through the keratin layer. I have also tried canestan cream and mizonazol cream which are actually meant for human fungal infections but again these do not seem to get to the fungus or whatever it is. How can we best treat this animal with the keratin layer still being intact? Can it also be something other than a fungal infection? Any food I can safely give here with antimycotic effects? Thanks for your help. All the best from Europe, BiancaView attachment 146215 View attachment 146216 View attachment 146216

I don't see anything weird?

 

[wellington]

I must agree, nothing weird looking. The brighter pics she is wet. As they age, they can become more dull in color. Is everything else good with her, diet eating good, soaking drinking, etc?

 

[Yvonne G]

As turtles age their brilliant coloration fades. I see nothing wrong with this shell and no indication of any fungus.

 

[johnsonnboswell]

Stop treating the turtle. It's not sick, there's no fungus. The shell is dry and scratched, but not damaged. This happens to old turtles. A very very thin application of coconut oil will make it look better; some would argue it's beneficial.

Do look at your care practices to see if anything needs to change. Don't withhold moisture. Read Tess Cook's book. One version is available online free, the paperback is available through Amazon.

 

[Dutch box turtles]

I must agree, nothing weird looking. The brighter pics she is wet. As they age, they can become more dull in color. Is everything else good with her, diet eating good, soaking drinking, etc?

Sorry for my late reply, when I tried to post my original message it kept saying there was something wrong so I though it was not uploaded. She is drinking fine, she seems to have lost her interest in food, including her favourites such as worms and snails, but she did not loose weight so far so I am not too worried about that yet. I have started vitamin A last Wednesday and she looks much better already. I think it might be a secondary infection upon vitamin A deficiency or just vitamin A deficiency (can this also cause colour loss or weakening and the keratin layer?). She was very pale, this seems to get a little better since today, but she still has spots in a strange yellowish colour (outside her normal yellow colour range), normally the bounderies of her yellow pattern are very pronounced, this has changed, it is more blurry. I have found a specialized vet and I am going to visit her tomorrow. Thanks for your help. I will let you know what I find out.

 

[Yvonne G]

Other than the fact the pattern seems to be very muted compared to the other turtle, I really don't see anything. Some of the new growth looks a bit iffy, but I don't know what to say about it.

 

[Dutch box turtles]

Thanks for your advice. I am new to this forum and had some error messages when I tried to post my question so I thought it was not posted until today. I have stopped the antimycotics as it did not work. But I do feel there is something wrong with her, it is not age. She also stopped eating, but I started vitamin A last Wednesday and she is more active now so I hope all is related to this deficiency. I have found a specialized vet and will visit her tomorrow. I will keep you updated. Warm regards from your turtle friend Bianca