Reptile & Amphibian Forums

my 2 florida soft shells have white cloudy rings on the back of their shells they do come off if i rub them ive been told that its coz they are growing is this true or is it serious please help

most likely it sounds like a fungus. are there only softshells in the tank? im assuming they are together. they probably got scratched on decor or by eachother. FL softys have spots as patterning but if it is fuzzy and you can rub them off it is a fungus and you should get an antifungal medication for fish and treat the softies tank. i had yellow belly sliders with a funus on their skin that cleared up with trisulfa meds. they came in little pills, i think, and are found in the aquarium meds section. im assuming they have ample filtration, heat lamp, and UV lighting? if not all of these things are needed for optimal health, in addition to a very good and varied diet.

ive got 2 soft shells in there and a snake neck they get on fine and they had the spots when i got them ,ive got 3 filters in there , but i havent got a uv light just a flouresent light and a heater its about 75 degrees

there is something wrong if the spots are rubbing off. even if they all get along, it only takes a little accidental scratch to cause these spots. if they had it when you them it could be from overcrowding where you got them, or where that pet store got them. a lot of softies crammed into a little tank will cause a lot of physical contact between everyone in there. since a softies claws are so sharp it could just take one trying to crawl across the other to give one a scratched up shell which will develop this fungus and could take a while to heal when not being treated. there are fluorescent UV bulbs, so get one since you already have the fixture for it. zoo med makes a 10.0 UV bulb, that would be best, but 5.0 would be a minimum. they also need a heat lamp over there basking area, not just heated water. the water could be a little warmer, 78-80F, but 75 is the minimum. if you want to try and treat this fungus yourself i can explain how, but at least get them a UV bulb, preferably the 10.0, and get them a heat lamp for their basking area. what size tank is it, and what types of filters are they(including model numbers)?

I believe that my softshell turtle has a fungal infection on his shell. I took him to our vet yesterday but unfortunately he does not have much experience with softshell turtles. When I first talked to the vet on the phone (last week) he advised me to keep the shell dry and treat the infected area topically with a very diluted bleech/water mixture. By the time I took the turtle to his office yesterday the milky film had dried up and the vet suggested me putting the turtle back into the water, since it seemed to be very uncomfortable without it. He suggested to keep treating the area with a Betadine solution for the next few weeks (keeping the turtle out of the water for about 5-10 minutes after application) until the spots looked completely normal again. I did what he suggested but today the milky film is back and there seems to be a second small spot. Any other ideas on how I could treat the little turtle? I (somebody who rescued this little creature from a careless owner) am looking forward to any and all advice from all you reptile gods out there. Thanks a bunch.