Turtlesfromcolo
Active Member
One of my ornate yearlings has some white discoloration (I don't remb seeing it before) Please help, is this shell rot? It's no where else on the shell.
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Plastron discoloration. Need help identifying please.
- Thread starter Turtlesfromcolo
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That is a weird even pattern. Looks like he walked over a light coating of paint or something.
Is he always on wet substrate? It's not looking like shell rot, but could possibly be a fungus. It's just such an even pattern. I would check that he doesn't have something in the enclosure that could have rubbed off on him. Then I would make sure that there is dry areas of substrate. You can also put some antifungal cream on it.
Is he always on wet substrate? It's not looking like shell rot, but could possibly be a fungus. It's just such an even pattern. I would check that he doesn't have something in the enclosure that could have rubbed off on him. Then I would make sure that there is dry areas of substrate. You can also put some antifungal cream on it.
Turtlesfromcolo
Active Member
Yes it's a very nice pattern. No their substrate isn't always wet. I do mist it daily. I couldn't imagine what in their enclosure could have transferred on to it. They look like little perfect dots. What kind of anti fungal cream would you suggest?
Like what you would buy for athletes foot
That is simply the older layer of scutes getting ready to shed. Shows a good healthy turtle!
Is the white discoloration on the shell located on the high points of the overall shell itself? Or in others words, is the white color on the part of the shell that makes the most contact with whatever surface the box turtle is resting on?
Agreed
you think so? Seems so patterned perfect to be shedding. I have never noticed it like that before.
This usually happens when the enclosure is too dry and it's doesn't allow the scutes to shed properly, that new layer begins to separate from the old and a very thin layer of fluid forms between the two layers. If the enclosure is too dry or not humid enough this fluid layer will not form properly.
I see it all the time with my aquatic turtles. The old layer begins to lift and gets that look. In a yearling it looks like this pattern because the new growth band from this year is broad compared to the total scute
Turtles differ from tortoises in that with turtles new keratin is laid down under the entire scute and lifts the old layer. Normally - after a year of growth the older layers lift off leaving the new, fresh scute layer and a smooth new looking scute.
With tortoises, new keratin is laid down at the scute edges spreading out to fill in the seam opening up. A very minuscule amount of keratin is laid down under the existing scute. They never shed and the scutes forms ridges or rings.
Sort of, A while back another person had posted a turtle like this and I thought it was "dry shell rot" so I started doing heavy research because I had a young one that had spots on it's carapace like this. I came to the conclusion that the fluid had dried out during the shedding process and left it to be so noticeable
I had turtles too. Not young ones though. Must be why I never seen it like that.
I have always been under the impression that box turtles don't shed entire scutes like aquatic species do. I've certainly never noticed any in my indoor box turtle enclosures or seen entire scutes lifting off of the shell of the box turtles. When I look at an aquatic turtle I see a perfectly smooth scute because the old layer lifts off but when I look at a box turtle scute I see growth rings, one layer upon another, making me think that the old scute surface is still there. Can you touch on the differences?
I'm not sure about the aquatics, Mark could probably answer that.
The part about the box turtles and I believe it's mostly the young ones from what I could gather that this appears in. It's takes place inside those growth rings and it's sheds much like you were asking like our skin, not the entire scutes at once. In the right conditions with the humidity it happens so subtle that we usually don't see it unless the fluid in between the layers dries out. I could be completely wrong but I looked through tons of literature and websites on this.
@Markw84
A lot of times the top layer of the scute comes off in smaller pieces. Sometimes the whole old layer comes off in one piece. I seem to find with aquatics, the healthier, early year sheds are often the most in a single piece. Those that don't shed til later in the year seem to have it come off in pieces. Here's my large 32 yr old cooter from this weekend..,
Sh-h-h. . . don't tell her I said this, but she has awfully big feet!
Isn't it cool the way they spread their toes to expose as much skin as possible - solar panels!!!
That is a beautiful, big cooter! And she does have big feet, just sayin'.
When I saw this picture, I was ready to agree with Wellington that it was possibly fungus, but the symmetrical pattern was just too perfect for something like fungus. Some sort of shell growth or shell attrition seems more likely.
I'm very keen to understand the process as it specifically applies to box turtles. Since joining the forum, I have seen discussions about aquatic turtle shell growth and tortoise shell growth but nothing about how box turtle shells grow. If anyone reading this can help point me to research papers on the subject I would appreciate it! Their growth seems more similar to tortoises than aquatics, based on appearances. All but one of my eastern box turtles have multiple, pronounced growth ridges, not anything like pyramiding of course, with the exception being one whose shell is extremely smooth. In that individual, growth ridges are only slightly visible on a couple rear costal scutes on the carapace, which I have always attributed to her being so old that the ridges had worn down over the years.
You aren't saying that an entire scute on this ornate is going to flake off like an aquatic would, right? On the plastron femoral scute, for example, the whitish coloring appears to span multiple growth ridges, new and old. Is it a case like Craig suggested, that the ornate is being kept too dry, and the outer surface of keratin from multiple growth ridges has dried out before hardening on this yearling, and will rub off as the ornate drags it across the substrate? Or is it just a natural, periodic shedding of keratin layers?
I'm sure the OP is worried about this ornate and would like to know what to expect going forward. I know I do!
Turtlesfromcolo
Active Member
No you can't feel anything. I keep their enclosures humidity 65/70 % plus 2x a day I mist it down. They also soak every other day, plus all of them regularly use their water dish in their enclosure. Here's their indoor enclosure. I took the lid off for the picture. It's enclosed except for a square on top that's screened for their lights. (I dumped water after pic lol They get fresh water daily)
