Reptile & Amphibian Forums

The earlier post (about snappers basking when they're sick) got me to thinking about my snappy!

She has prefered to be out of the water rather than in the last few weeks. She spends the nights, and cooler cloudier days in the pond, but as soon as the sun hits the enclosure, she is out of the water. She sits under the long grass all day. She moves between several favorite spots, and returns to the pond in the evening.

I thought I better take a good close look at her.

She has white patches on her head, back, and tail. They are more crusty than fuzzy. I though they might be lime deposits as our water has a high lime content.

I turned her over, and saw several light red, thin lines in irregular, small shapes. I rubbed at these spots and she DID NOT like this! Even her mouth came open and ready! This suprised me as she has never protested much when I handled her! When I put her down she "ran" away from me as fast as she could! (Also never did that before.)

I also noticed she smelled, although I can't say as I ever smelled her before!

And I also noticed some "oozey" stuff coming from between her back legs and the shell, but didn't see any signs of a sore or infection.

Her eyes and nose seem clear, and she is eating ok.

I don't know as these pictures are much help, as I have a really crummy camera!

I'd appreciate any helpful comments anyone has. Thanks very much.

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0.1.0 snapping turtle
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.1.0 ornate box turtle
0.1.0 teddybear hamster
0.1.0 Australian shepard
3.2.0 children

Those are definately some sort of skin lesion. Clean your pond immeadiately, even if you've done it recently. Turtles, and alot of other aqautic herps will stay dry in order to battle the skin ailment...which is usually due to poor water quality, but may also be parasitic.

A vet visit is probably in order. Until then, I would keep the turtle in a sanitary environment, because something in your pond is causing problems.

well it's not me..although i do have have more kids then you...7..i think mataaman had a good point..but heres my input..frist i wonder how big your snapper is(no pun intended)..i wonder if it has had the oppertunity to hibernate...at 4 years old and keep at 75 to 80 degrees i would think it would be as large as a 16 year old wild snapper...so growing that fast it might be more susceptible to things like this.. i would disinfect the the water pool..and as a last resort i found back in the late 60's and early 70's that tetracycline would clear up all kinds of problems associated with poor husbandy..although not an antibiotic it gave snakes or whatever a chance to clear up fungus by halting the process that was going on and allowing their own immune systems take hold...this is just a thought so ask a vet soon...good luck...billy

She has hibernated the last few winters. She is almost 4 years old and a little over 6 inches. The pond and gravel is cleaned regularly.

I think I figured it out. Just before this started, we caught some baby wild fish in a lake nearby, and put them in the pond for her to feed on. I wonder if they brought in some kind of fungus or something!?

Anyway, I treated the pond and am giving her a sulfa bath everyday. Hopefully that will clear it up.

Thanks for the suggestions.
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0.1.0 snapping turtle
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.1.0 ornate box turtle
0.1.0 teddybear hamster
0.1.0 Australian shepard
3.2.0 children

i don't know that much about lime(limestone?)but doesn't it cause a high ph level and make the water hard(compared to soft water with a low ph)? you might check the water ph even though it is clean and changed regularly. goodluck,steve

thanks! I checked. It's on the high side, but not too high.
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0.1.0 snapping turtle
0.1.0 painted turtle
0.1.0 ornate box turtle
0.1.0 teddybear hamster
0.1.0 Australian shepard
3.2.0 children