rescued baby RES sick?

[sulcata_turbo]

While chaos was ging on in our family on a really terrible day my dad walked outside and found a baby red eared slider. It was in our front yard no where near water and no where near any other turtles. He was really dried up so we put him in some water and decided we would keep him. we ended up naming him DJ after our uncle that had just passed away. Well the other day I noticed how terribble his shell looks when it is dry. It is white and kind of flakey and just looks horrible. his skin is clear though, there is no white/flakeyness anywhere on his skin. also His belly has been soft ever since we found him and we are making sure to put calcium in the water. Here is how his enclosure is set up:
20 gallon tank
floating rock
water filter
uvb light
heat lamp on half of the flaoting rock
temp of water stays between 75-80
basking area stays 90
he is fed ZooMed aquatic turtle pellets, worms, tiny shrimp, sometimes clovers.
he has a cuttlebone in his water.
(i think thats all...)
He is very active and very friendly. He eats, moves, and has regular bowels. I am just super worried about his shell. I looked some stuff up and its not fuzzy like a fungus would be. Could it be shell rot or is he just peeling? I have no idea about water turtles.Also when we found him he was the size of a quarter, now he is about half dollar size. thank you all for any help.
I have attached photos of him dry and wet.

 

[lkwagner]

Dang, I've never seen that before. I have one and mine does not look like that. Hopefully this will give you a bump and more people will see this to help you!! I wish I could help more but everything you're doing sounds right to me

 

[sulcata_turbo]

I have bought some providone-iodine cause I read if is shell rot that it will help. But i wanna post on here first. He is from the wild so I reallt don't know how long he was in my front yard away from water and just how long he had been without food. Thank you for the bump. I just really want him to make it cause he is so active and friendly.

 

[lkwagner]

I really don't think that's shell rot, but I'm sure someone will help you soon! Good job rescuing him

 

[mike taylor]

I don't think it's shell rot . I think is from being to dry for so long. It may shed off but don't know for sure.

Mike

 

[sulcata_turbo]

I don't think it's shell rot . I think is from being to dry for so long. It may shed off but don't know for sure.

Mike

it was worse a few days ago it has gotten a little better but around the edges are still terrible. give me a second and i can get a close up of the edges. I have to let him dry off.

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I don't think it's shell rot . I think is from being to dry for so long. It may shed off but don't know for sure.

Mike

here is a close up

 

[mike taylor]

It may be some type of fungal infection. I would clean him with a tooth Brush. And see if it comes off. Is the shell pilling or clear like it is shedding. Turtles do shed there shell scutes a small thin clear layer at a time it just seems to me he stayed to dry for to long and the scutes have not shed off yet my take some time it's hard to tell for sure from pictures . Hopefully someone will come on here and help out more .Pm Gerards he my be able to help more .

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[sulcata_turbo]

It may be some type of fungal infection. I would clean him with a tooth Brush. And see if it comes off. Is the shell pilling or clear like it is shedding. Turtles do shed there shell scutes a small thin clear layer at a time it just seems to me he stayed to dry for to long and the scutes have not shed off yet my take some time it's hard to tell for sure from pictures . Hopefully someone will come on here and help out more .

Sent from my C771 using TortForum mobile app

i can't wash it off with a soft tooth brush it's more like a peeling than anything. i was just hoping that posting this would help me and it really has! i have never had a water turtle and this little guy was kinda just thrown into the mix. I couldn't just leave him. I didnt' know that they could peel till just recently. Thank you.

 

[brandhllg]

I don't think it's shell rot either, I'm guessing that poor guy has been baking in the sun, he probably hasn't been near a water source for a good bit of time and dehydration started to set in, the was probably someone's meal and he managed to free himself. I have seen this in milder forms when people bring me turtles that they find wondering around. Not to this point however. Make sure you provide calcium for him, it will help. There is also a product called vita shell, I won't swear by it but in his case I would pick some up. You can purchase it at petsmart cost about 5 bucks and its like a lotion. I would apply let it sit on the shell for about ten minutes or so and then whip it off before returning back to the water, it should help some. Keep his water supply extra clean, and make sure to use calcium it will help with the new shell growth.
I hope an expert chimes in soon for you.

 

[sulcata_turbo]

I don't think it's shell rot either, I'm guessing that poor guy has been baking in the sun, he probably hasn't been near a water source for a good bit of time and dehydration started to set in, the was probably someone's meal and he managed to free himself. I have seen this in milder forms when people bring me turtles that they find wondering around. Not to this point however. Make sure you provide calcium for him, it will help. There is also a product called vita shell, I won't swear by it but in his case I would pick some up. You can purchase it at petsmart cost about 5 bucks and its like a lotion. I would apply let it sit on the shell for about ten minutes or so and then whip it off before returning back to the water, it should help some. Keep his water supply extra clean, and make sure to use calcium it will help with the new shell growth.
I hope an expert chimes in soon for you.

thank you very much!! he was TERRIBLE when we first found him. my dad thinks a bird had him and he wiggled away like you were saying. the edges of his shell are worse than the top. the center has gotten a little better the edges look like they are trying.. i will make sure to pick up the vita shell, it's worth trying at least.

 

[lkwagner]

I use vita shell for my sulcatas occasionally, I think its a good idea and should help

 

[lizbeth490]

Sounds like you are doing everything right, setup wise. It looks like he is just shedding the dry top layer of scutes. Try VERY gently using your finger nail to lift up and peel the scutes away. Shell rot is caused by the old scutes not shedding and water being trapped between them and the new scute. Vita shell helps but definately try peeling the old away VERY VERY gently before appling the vitashell. Eventually it should all come off and not look all dried out :]

 

[sulcata_turbo]

Sounds like you are doing everything right, setup wise. It looks like he is just shedding the dry top layer of scutes. Try VERY gently using your finger nail to lift up and peel the scutes away. Shell rot is caused by the old scutes not shedding and water being trapped between them and the new scute. Vita shell helps but definately try peeling the old away VERY VERY gently before appling the vitashell. Eventually it should all come off and not look all dried out :]

what would be the fastest way to get his shell strong again? he refuses to take the liquid calcium straight, he won't touch his cuttlebone with a 10 foot pole and I am just stumped. His shell has had soft spots since we found him, thankfully it's not getting worse... but it's definitely not getting any better. will the VitaShell help strengthen his shell along with healing it from this yucky peeling?

Btw I did help with the peeing process. I didn't peel ANYTHING that had any resistance or seemed like it was still attached, but there was about 10 scutes or so that did peel. He was not very happy about holding that still that long for me.. that's for sure. lol

thank you all for the help!!

 

[brandhllg]

Just add the calcium to the water as he is swimming he will swallow a lot of the water. Water turtles constantly drink water, they also use it while eating, they don't produce saliva. Do you have the cuttlebone in the water? The cuttlebone will slowly dissolve into the water supply, he will get all the calcium needed by this. I use dr.turtle slow release calcium blocks by zoomed. I change my water weekly and always add a new block.

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If for some reason you feel he needs the calcium as a supplement every great once in a while I take a silverside and cut into the gut and add some powder calcium with vitamin d3, my diamond backs love this. You can get silversides in the freezer by the fish section at petco/petsmart. I get mine from a marine store in town. They are silver fish that don't have all the negatives like feeder fish do. He is so small he probably couldn't eat a whole one so cut off the back end of the fish, and you won't have so much waste if you do this. Keep me updated, I have taken an interest in your post.

 

[lizbeth490]

Sounds like you are doing everything right, setup wise. It looks like he is just shedding the dry top layer of scutes. Try VERY gently using your finger nail to lift up and peel the scutes away. Shell rot is caused by the old scutes not shedding and water being trapped between them and the new scute. Vita shell helps but definately try peeling the old away VERY VERY gently before appling the vitashell. Eventually it should all come off and not look all dried out :]

what would be the fastest way to get his shell strong again? he refuses to take the liquid calcium straight, he won't touch his cuttlebone with a 10 foot pole and I am just stumped. His shell has had soft spots since we found him, thankfully it's not getting worse... but it's definitely not getting any better. will the VitaShell help strengthen his shell along with healing it from this yucky peeling?

Btw I did help with the peeing process. I didn't peel ANYTHING that had any resistance or seemed like it was still attached, but there was about 10 scutes or so that did peel. He was not very happy about holding that still that long for me.. that's for sure. lol

thank you all for the help!!

Just keep checking if there are any loose scutes every day. You can use a soft baby tooth brush and brush the shell before adding vitashell. If you can, put the turtle in a tub outside in the sun so you make sure it gets nice and dried out, be sure to supervise so it doesnt get too hot. The shell could be soft due to not getting completely out of the water.

Also, not sure if i mentioned it but the vitashell will make you have to change the water more often because it will get cloudy :]

 

[sulcata_turbo]

When he is in his enclosure he always gets on his little basking platform and lets himself dry off and bask for a while.. the only reason I know this 100% is cause I thought the same thing as you mentioned. but he is drying himself very well and then jumping in and swim everywhere. I have been peeling him, ,or checking to see if there is anything to peel everyday. His shell is a brighter green for sure. When I get an opportunity I will post a photo of him.

And thank you for the tip! lol I thought maybe he was just being extra messy here lately! lol

 

[lizbeth490]

Im glad its looking better! Look at the scutes on his bottom too, the shed also, just be sure to be careful just like you are with the top :] I can't wait to see pics!!

 

[sulcata_turbo]

Here is an update on my little man. His shell is not nearly as rough looking but it's still not the bright green that I feel it should be. I have attached some photos so that you can see the progress. Thank you all for your help!

 

[sulcata_turbo]

UPDATE


Little mister DJ is as spoiled as can be and as alive as ever! <3
He is in a 100 gallon tank now with goldfish, sucker fish , and snails, and oddly enough they live in harmony! lol Seeing as he was in terrible condition when we found him his shell was extremely damaged so he has pyramiding/ scarring (?) that is very obvious.

But I attached some photos bellow so that everyone could see the wonderful progress of how he has grown and is a survivor!