Awhile ago I was given a painted turtle that had been kept in very poor conditions for a serious length of time, who had also sustained some shell damage due to a cat attack. I started treating the shell using Nolvasan and now find that the outer layer is starting to flake away, revealing heavy damage that is quite obviously the result of something else. I'm trying to figure out if anyone has any clue what it might be.
The shell being revealed now is very dull in color with a dimpled/wrinkled appearance that almost make him look like a giant raisin. To make matters even more concerning is there are hard white deposits embedded in the shell. I've popped a few of the smaller ones out and they looked much like sand. But, there are larger ones that I'm afraid to dig at too much just yet since they're not loosening up. My thoughts is this was caused by some sort of diet problems, but haven't heard or seen anything like this hard white pieces before. Could it be calcium or something similar?
Before I had him, he was kept in a fish tank without proper heating and lighting with other fish, and was fed nothing but Reptomin. I've had him just over two weeks and have failed to get him to eat anything aside from chicken breast and Reptomin. I've been refusing the Reptomin for the last week trying to get the turtle to eat real food, introducing a wide variey of greens and fruits. He will sniff at it, spit to push it away, then sit up and beg at me. As far as I understood, you don't want to feed a turtle on Reptomin alone.
He's now being kept between 75-95, fluxuating between time of day, wet or dry tank, basking and cool areas. Activity level seems normal and when allowed his Reptomin will eat voraciously (has eaten up to 50 sticks in less than 20 minutes, could have eaten more but emptied the jar). Poops are normal. The shell is firm. The other injuries seem to be healing fine. There are just a few dark areas on the underside that appear to be under the surface that I can't get at just yet, so am doing Betadine soaks as well hoping it will seep into those areas.
The appearance of the top shell is really concerning me though. Those white deposits and appearance are disconcerting. The flaking is ranging from very thin flakes to thick, full scute layers lifting away at corners (not quite loose enough to help peel them away though). I can see that shell is filled with air bubbles under the top scute layer where all these dimples have formed. Any thoughts are appreciated.
