Shell Rot … help!
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I have 2 adult rescued (wild) DBTs I’ve been keeping since late September. I discovered an area (apx dime sized) on the plastron of one female that is discolored and soft (squishy). I’m assuming it’s shell rot. there are 2 or 3 other smaller areas of discoloration. I only noticed the “soft” area yesterday while I was feeding them. Since I pick them up several times a week, this area of disease has appeared fairly rapidly. My other female also has a spot on the carapace that has been discolored (yellowish) since I received the turtles, but hasn’t spread at all. It is not soft. CONDITIONS – They are kept in a 70 gallon acrylic fish tank (apx 55 gallons of water in it) with a large basking area hanging off the side. My water is salt with a salinity of between 1.17 and 1.20 SG (depends on the batch I mix up). I change 95% of the water once a week. Temperature is between 80 and 85 degrees. I have a large capacity wet/dry filter (home-made) I use for maintaining water quality … it is a 20 gallon fish tank with 1/2 the volumn filled with bio-balls. I have a 300 gallon per hour pump circulating water through the filter into the tank (tank has an overflow). I have a shop light above the tank with one 40 watt UVB Reptile Flourencent bulb (plus a 40 full spectrum bulb). I also have a 100 UVA basking heat bulb above the basking area. When it was warmer (up thru end of October) I let the two gals hang out outside in a pen I built for them to sun themselves … 2-3 hours once or twice a week. Since we now have snow on the ground, this is not feasible until spring (I’m in Rhode Island). I feed the gals defrosted Smelts every two or three days OUTSIDE their tank… they each have their own plastic vat I fill with fresh water. The affected turtle is the ravenous eater … she’ll down 2 smelts very quickly. The other girl is much more finicky … she really only like shrimp but she’s started eating some smelt … only a few bites though. SUGGESTIONS FOR TREATING THE SHELL ROT?
Your salinity level probably helped contain a nastier infestation but as with all wild-caughts, some shell rot is inevitable. Do they bask much? The trick now is to remove the rot and allow the shell to dry. You should gingerly remove the cottage cheese-like rot and apply the area with Betadine or Nolvasan. You should then dry dock them daily for most of the day with a heat lamp as well as a cool area. Provide a container of water for them to drink as well. You can discontinue the dry treatment when it becomes apparent that the rot is contained. -Chun — In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, “jeffreyrichardssc”
Stephen … 1) They do NOT bask often … 2) How do I remove the “rotten Cheese” … the area is soft but not cheesy consistency … 3) Where does one get Betadine or Nolvasan 4) “You should then dry dock them daily for most of the day with a heat lamp as well as a cool area.” Does this help (heat lamp) if the rot is on the plastron? Would 12-15 hours daily be ok? Thanks Jeffrey A Richard State Street Corporate Information Security 617-985-4014 “Stephen Chew”
diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com @... Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: Shell Rot ... help! 11/18/2004 01:59 PM Please respond to diamondbackterrapins Your salinity level probably helped contain a nastier infestation but as with all wild-caughts, some shell rot is inevitable. Do they bask much? The trick now is to remove the rot and allow the shell to dry. You should gingerly remove the cottage cheese-like rot and apply the area with Betadine or Nolvasan. You should then dry dock them daily for most of the day with a heat lamp as well as a cool area. Provide a container of water for them to drink as well. You can discontinue the dry treatment when it becomes apparent that the rot is contained. -Chun --- In diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com, "jeffreyrichardssc" Jeffrey, You should definitely dry dock them since they do not bask often on their own. You can use a toothpick to dig out the soft off-white areas. If the rot does not fit this description, then it’s probably best that you upload some pics of the areas concerned before attempting removal. You can obtain diluted Betadine at a drug store but Nolvasan will need to be obtained from a vet. Dry docking will help as long as you are diligent in keeping the are that they are in dry so that the plastron can dry fully. 12 hours a day is fine. All the best. -Chun
“Dry docking will help as long as you are diligent in keeping the are that they are in dry so that the plastron can dry fully.” I’m at work for this time so they are unattended … was going to put then in an empty 70 gallon tank (48 x 18 x 18) … should I put newspaper under them? Another substraight? I’ll try to get some pics this weekend many thanks Jeffrey A Richard State Street Corporate Information Security 617-985-4014 “Stephen Chew”
diamondbackterrapins@yahoogroups.com @... Subject: [diamondbackterrapins] Re: Shell Rot ... help! 11/18/2004 03:07 PM Please respond to diamondbackterrapins Jeffrey, You should definitely dry dock them since they do not bask often on their own. You can use a toothpick to dig out the soft off-white areas. If the rot does not fit this description, then it's probably best that you upload some pics of the areas concerned before attempting removal. You can obtain diluted Betadine at a drug store but Nolvasan will need to be obtained from a vet. Dry docking will help as long as you are diligent in keeping the are that they are in dry so that the plastron can dry fully. 12 hours a day is fine. All the best. -Chun I am a newbie when it comes to these turtles, and have only begun to scratch the surface of these animals. The only comment I can make is that I am extremely surprised anything is wrong with the turtle considering the great lengths you go to in order to keep them healthy. It sounds like they should be incredibly healthy. As for the shell rot, here is a nice explanation on the web about it: http://www.diamondbackterrapin.com/index2.html Just click on health issues, and then shell rot. Also, Vets have a medicine that can cure this, but I forget the name. Good luck! jeffreyrichardssc
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