Reptile & Amphibian Forums

a few months ago someone posted pics of hatchlings with spots on their shells, someone recomended using chlorhexidine gluconate on them a few times every day and to keep them sterile, now my hatchlings are getting some spots that lok a bit similiar to what the other posters turtles had and I'm worried, I went out and bought some antibacterial spray(pet relief) it's for cats and dogs but nothing in the ingredients made me think it would be bad for the hatchlings.
I took a pic of #3 but it didn't come out to well, if it is fungus it's in a very early stage but all 3 have it.
I circled the spots in white

am I worrying for nothing? isn't 13 weeks(or there abouts) to soon to be shedding a scute?

some better pics

hmmmm I'm sitting here thinking the word hmmmm out loud.

The white in the front near the head to me looks kind of like water stains. Our sulcata has white in the areas between scutes but it's all water stain from soaking in our hard water.
Then I saw the whitish area in the back scutes & it reminded me of the map & RES turtles I babysat last fall. That was SCUD on both of those turtles but for them it was bacterial. Chlorhexidine works for both bacterial & fungal infections but the vet had prescribed antibiotics for those aquatics.

Usually when it's a land turtle that doesn't live in water most of the time SCUD is caused by fungus.. so because that white area on the back end doesn't looks so good then if it were me I'd be doing the daily chlorhexidine.
Omaha Vaccine & Jeffer's Pet Supply which both have print catalogs & online catalogs sell chlorhexidine cheaper than most places do. I believe too that they also have an order form you can print out & mail it with a check or money order if you don't like using a credit card.
In fact I can't remember which one sells it but one of those places sells a small bottle that costs less than 10 dollars..most every one else sells it only by the gallon but if you don't need that much the small bottle would be perfect if you're only going to use it for soaks.
I can't buy it locally. I've checked around nobody has it so I always order it.

Here's the pic of the RES I sat for, it wasn't in as bad shape as the map.. does it look like what you're seeing?

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PHRatz

Yes, I agree with Ratz. It looks like the beginning of a fungus. People often confuse shell infections with scute peeling because the fungus or bacteria usually exploits the "nooks and crannies" in the shell where the scutes may happen to be peeling. I've thought the same thing many times before.

If you have the slightest question about a "whitish" color on the shell of your box turtle, it's almost always best to just go ahead and treat with Chlorhexidine. Shell infections, especially fungal, can progress VERY quickly and can take months to clear up. Chlorhexidine is so safe, it's much better to treat now and ask questions later. Another good thing to remember is to scrub vigorously at these spots. These little organisms have ways of protecting themselves, and scrubbing will help to expose and dislodge them.

Living in the humid Southeast, I have tons of trouble with shell infections. My three-toes are 10 times more succeptible than any of the other box turtle species...even ornates.

Wow, it looks like those hatchlings are going to retain that beautiful coloration that they had upon emerging. They're gorgeous! I can't wait to see them as they grow. If caught early, which this was, these infections are easily treated. Any damage that occurs will not likely be visible long-term.

What is SCUD?

I've been getting some chlorahexadine concentrate
from my vet. Can't remember what I paid, but its
a bottle of blue stuff that I mix two tablespoons
with water to make a gallon and it(the bottle of
concentrate) usually lasts me a year or two.

SCUD is an acronym for the disease that causes shell rot:
Link

Glad to hear of someone else who likes Jeffers.

BTW, they sell chlorhexedine in pint bottles (see link): it's good stuff to have around.
Link

Oops, that link didn't take you directly to the intended page (sorry). Just type chlorhexidine into the search field.