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4 out of 12 of my fla babies have scud what do i do / thought i had it under control what do i do until the medicine gets here is this going to cause permanant damage to their shells or health kenospher streamwalker steph f please reply

I just have a few questions...

Have you been treating with anything until now?

What medicine are you expecting to arrive, and when?

Are the patches becoming soft or smelly?

Can you post pictures?

I'll be hit or miss this weekend, but I'm sure that people will be able to help you out. Ratz also has some great knowledge in turtle care and rehab, though she's very conservative about giving advice concerning Veterinary Medicine over the internet.

I'm sure that you'll get your turtles through this.

I would suggest going to the drugstore and picking up a bottle of Betadine, and using that until the awaited medicine arrives (which I'm assuming is the chlorhexidine, right?).

When Rouen posted about his fungus problem in late Dec., I think that you'd mentioned you were having a similar problem with your Floridas, right?

yes i thought it was dissapearing but now it is back how do i use these two types of medicine will there be permanent damage to their shells i constantly change their substrate and water how do i avoid this in the future thank you

I'm really uncertain as to how to prevent such problems from happening in the first place. While treating them, I would advise keeping them on moistened paper towels, so that you won't have to contend with particles of substrate perpetuating the cycle.

Here's a link to a reply given in a thread on the same subject that explains how to best use chlorhexidine (or Betadine):
Link

Thanks Steph...let me just add some to that.

Depending on what is the source of the infection (bacterial or fungal), you may have to treat this for 6 months or more. Shells are usually slow to heal.

Betadine is VERY strong, and you should dilute it well if you use it. DO NOT GET BETADINE IN THE TURTLE'S EYES, NOSE, MOUTH, OR ANUS. You can mix up your solution and then dab it up with a toothbrush. Brush the shell well, let it sit for a minute or so, then rinse the turtle off.

Chlorhexidine is pretty safe. You can use the same toothbrush method with this. Most solutions are 10 to 20%. If you have a concentrate, you'll obviously have to dilute it.

You can do this once a day.

As far as prevention, that's a tough one. Young Florida box turtles are typically very tolerant of hot, humid conditions where fungi and bacteria usually thrive. It seems like the swampier things are, the better the turtles do. Being suited to this habitat, it is usually very rare for a Florida box turtle to get a shell infection. It makes prevention tough. Really, you'd have to describe your husbandry in detail and then we could respond to anything that throws up a red flag. Other than that...I'd stick to the basics. A stroll backwards through this forum should help.

Make sure to quarantine those 4 turtles. Don't let anything they've come in contact with touch the other turtles unless it has first been soaked in 10% bleach...including your hands.

You seemed nervous about things in the first post of this thread. Taking the turtles to a qualified herp Veterinarian is not only superior to any advice given on this forum, but it can also help to set your mind at ease. Things are changing, and more and more herp Vets. are popping up throughout the US. This very site has an aide to help you find one.

I didn't mention diluting the Betadine. Error of omission.