Reptile & Amphibian Forums

We have a malaysian box turtle, and while it is active and alert, it keeps scratching at its eyes, neck and front legs. I've been looking on the web for possibilities as to what it is, but I can't find anything that fits quite right.
It was brought to the store 2 days ago. It is in a 20 gallon tank with 1/3 land. It has a basking lamp which gets up to 85-90F. It has nibbled at some aquatic plants but nothing substantial. I haven't noticed any bugs or ticks, but it is really shy and I can't do a thorough examination. It might be shedding, as when it is in the water, there is a small amount of shaggy skin like stuff that hangs off of the front legs and neck. It doesn't seem like it is present in a large enough quanity to be a fungus or bacterial infection, but I might be wrong about that. So I guess my question is what might be wrong with the turtle, unfortunately, a vet visit is out of the question as the pet store won't pay for it
thanks

Melanie
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- Melanie

2.1.0 Cats
1.4.5 Crested Geckos
0.0.1 Whites Tree Frog
1.2.0 Rats
1.0.0 Bernese Mountain Dog
1.1.0 Red Ear Sliders
1.3.0 Emperor Scorpion
0.0.1 Chilean Rose Tarantula
0.0.1 Pixie Frog
0.2.0 Bibrons Geckos
1.1.0 Helmuted Gecko
0.0.2 Chinese Soft Shell Turtles
1 planted tank

It could be a whole host of different things. It could just be trying to remove dead skin or it could be a bacterial infection. Most likely the turtles wild caught so a trip to the vet is in order regardless. I’ve kept Malaysian box turtles for a number of years and I found that the ones I had at least, came in heavily parasitized.

As far as its appetite goes, give it some time to settle in. Stress is most likely playing a role in its refusal to eat right now. Try some earthworms, the sight of movement will most likely stimulate it to eat. Mine find them irresistible.

Regardless a trip to the vet is in order. I’m not too sure why you expect the pet store to pay but regardless you should take it in and have a fecal done and have the vet take a look at the skin condition. I honestly believe that if you don’t, you’re setting yourself up to fail. Best of luck.

The way you wrote your post, I'm assuming that you work at this pet store? I think it is good that you are trying to help this turtle. I wish that your store owner cared as much as you do. Because, a vet is your only real hope in this. We can give you some suggestions, but we may "misdiagnose" some very severe problem. I know that pet stores pay poorly, and you probably don't have a lot of money to pay for vet bills. You have to be careful with these Asian species, many come in with horrible health problems. This eye thing could be a serious infection, improper water pH, or 100 things in between. One thing that may spark your store owner to act is to tell him/her that eye infections can occur as the result of horrible bacterial/fungal infestation that could potentially wipe out his/her entire reptile stock. And, you wouldn't be lying!