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Last year I noticed that my female three-toed box turtle had a small hole in her shell. I thought that it might be from my male. While attempting to mate, he grips her around that area. I decided to watch it and see if it healed. It seemed to get smaller, and she went into hibernation. However, this year I noticed that she has another hole on the other side of her. I also noticed that my male's shell seems to be not growing in a certain place. These deformities are all between the same scutes. Because of this, I think that it may be due to some sort of nutritional deficiency. I'm not sure what it would be, though. I sprinkle vitamin powder and cod liver oil on their food 3-4 times a month. They live outside, so they get plenty of sun. Some sort of parasite, maybe?
Below are some pictures. The first one is my male's shell. The second is the hole in my female's shell that I noticed this year. The third is the one I noticed last year. Any ideas?

It could be a form of dry shell rot. It is contagious and can be caused by fungus or bacteria. I would take them to a vet and get them looked at, you may have to get a perscrition for a cream and as well as directions for cleaning the area daily and perhaps a special soaking solution. You need to know what is causing the holes and do a thorough cleaning of their enclosure to get rid of what ever it is (ie bacteria or fungus) as well.

Did you put any medication in the hole?
It looks like something is oozing out of it in
the third photo.

I would flush out the hole with some Nolvasan also
known as chlorhexidine, maybe keep her inside for
observation for a few days.

If it is oozing something you might consider taking
her to a reptile vet, but if you can't, keeping her
clean and cleaning the hole with nolvasan should do
the tricks.

Those holes are fairly common in turtles found in the
wild, so I wouldn't worry too much. Just clean it out
and keep an eye on it.

Thanks for the replies. In the third picture, there isn't anything oozing from the hole. Ever since the hole appeared, the growth around it has been a little weird. Also, these turtles weren't taken from the wild. I've had them for 6 years and I only began noticing the holes last year. I'm going to try to schedule a vet appointment just in case. They could use their nails trimmed anyway. Thanks again for the help.

That "oozing" one was the one that worried me most. Please let us know what the vet says. You can still use the Novasan solution on it in the mean time. Good luck!

>>Thanks for the replies. In the third picture, there isn't anything oozing from the hole. Ever since the hole appeared, the growth around it has been a little weird. Also, these turtles weren't taken from the wild. I've had them for 6 years and I only began noticing the holes last year. I'm going to try to schedule a vet appointment just in case. They could use their nails trimmed anyway. Thanks again for the help.

Let us know what the vet has to say about it when you find out something.
I know I'd be interested to hear how this turns out.
Good luck!
-----
PHRatz

i agree, it looks like blood oozing out of the hole.

Could a dog have gotten into your enclosure?

There are a couple of parasitic worms that could cause this type of "migrating hole". My mom's a vet parasitoligist with extensive work on reptiles . . . I'll get her to look at the photos and see what she thinks.

I would bring her inside and keep a watch.

Well, I called the vet, and he's out of town until July. I scheduled an appointment for July 5th. Until then I guess I'll just keep a close eye on them.

This is nothing to worry about. Atleast one of my turtles has this. This is caused by the claws of the male scraping the back of the female turtle's shell. This can also be seen in males because males will mount one another in the same manner in order to fight. In wild caught turtles, the tools used to grasp turtles to pull them from holes also cause this condition. To my understanding, it is nothing to worry about. I read an article about the matter on the net once, and with a little research you can probably find it. Good luck.

Those holes are normal in females. The males use them to hold on to her shell during mating. I have seen that in every female box turtle I've seen. As long as there isn't any discoloration, it shouldn't be a problem.