Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi... our turtle appears to have something wrong with his shell. For a while, I assumed that it was simply his shell being regenerated as he grows, but it's been like it too long for that. Has anybody seen this before?

PK14

Sorry... that picture turned out very large. Here is a link to a better sized image:

http://www.geocities.com/bayes30/DCP_0338.JPG

Looks like a mild case of shell rott to me, it can cause schute shedding to be abnormal, which is what you are seeing, just keep an eye on it, if it gets worse take him/her to a vet for some meds. I wouldnt worry too much about it though, it doesnt look too bad. Make sure that you keep his water extra clean, and that his basking light/UV light are bulbs that are less then a year old, this will help him get the maximum benefits from the bulbs.

couldnt see the pic. geocities wouldnt let me in. but shedevil see4ms to think its mild shell rot. if thats tru, go to the link and theres real good info there on treating it. i followed that page once witha turt that was left off here and it worked great. turt is fine now
treating mild shell rot

It looks like old rot that is no longer active or possible a combo of that and mineral deposits that have gotten in under some scutes and hardened. If there is are no mushy malodorous areas or any red streaking around these patches I would just keep and eye on the animal to make sure they do not appear or what is there is not getting worse. If it is just old rot or mineral deposits it will eventually be cast off as the turtle sheds it's scutes. Just be sure to keep and eye on it and that your turtle has a nice warm basking area to dry off with lots of UVB light.

Steve

Thanks for your help everyone... much appreciated!