White spot on skin??
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Hello all, I have a 4 month old CB Concentric Diamondback. She (I think she’s a girl anyway) has a small white “growth” or spot on her right rear leg. I noticed it yesterday and it looks like it has gotten slightly larger than it was yesterday, but it is still a very small spot. She is right at 3 inches and is still eating like a horse. I would say that she has been ultra healthy since I got her 4 1/2 months ago and everyting has been perfect with her since day one. I know that it is extremely important to have clean water for DBT’s, so I do 20% water changes weekly and the filter should be sufficient (Magnum 350 for a 20 gallon long tank). I keep the temp right at 80 degrees, feed her a varied diet, and all the other basic stuff. I have bought some aqarium salt, but have not added any to the water just yet. So can someone out there (as many opinions as possibe) please tell me how serious this is and where do I go from here? Will adding the salt do the trick or do I have to medicate the area also? Also, how much salt? I have Pimafix on hand…..will that stuff help? All her behavior is exactly the same as it was before……very active swimmer, eating extremely well, and basking the normal amount, so this skin infection doesn’t appear to have affected her in a negative way just yet, but I want to nip it in the butt right away (if possible). This is my first Diamondback, so I’m clueless as to what is the best treatment for this kind of thing. She’s in a 20 gallon long tank all by herself (except for a 2″ pleco). pH is 7.8 and all other water levels are A-OK. Please let me know if you need any additional info. THANKS!! Jimbo
Hi Jimbo……I believe what you are seeing is fungal growth( white patches on their skin). I am a breeder and have alot of experience with this and came up with a method a few years back to cure it quickly. It is generally caused by your terrapin not having an adequate basking site. You must construct a warm basking site where your terrapin can get completely out of the water to dry out. If the basking site does not allow your terrapin to get its feet and limbs completely dried off you will continuously battle this problem despite the water clarity. So the long term solution is to construct a proper basking site. My terrapins are all in outdoor ponds and have natural basking sites, however the yearlings that I raise are kept inside during the winter in large tanks. I had to constantly be curing them before I realized what the root of the problem was. I constructed a basking site by getting a long piece of shaped driftwood which dipped lower in the center allowing the terrapins to easily get up and out of the water. I cut the back of the drift wood in a strait line and on one side cut a 90 degree straight angle. I then silicone (Using non toxic marine silicone) the driftwood onto the back and side of the tank about 3/4 up from the bottom. Leaving enough room for them to get out of the water and not too close to my basking lamps to injure themselves. I keep my water temperature at 82 and the basking site at around 88-90 degrees. With a properly constructed basking site once your terrapin is cured from the fungus it should not return. Now to effectively get rid of the fungus. The best method is to combine a strategy of dry docking and applying Betadine solution to the area with a Q-tip. Take your terrapin out of the tank and put it in a warm container kept at about 80-82 degrees with an old towel for it to hide under. Paint the affected area with the betadine after your terrapin has dried off and keep it in the dry-dock container all night. Then in the morning…allow it to rehydrate in another container with about 4 inches of fresh water.. Feed it and allow it to drink and poop. After a few hours then proceed with the dry-dock and betadine procedure. Rehydrate once again for a few hours prior to another night of dry-docking and betadine application. If you follow this procedure for a few days the fungal problem with disappear quickly. It is also a good idea while you are treating your terrain in other plastic containers to thoroughly clean its tank so once cured any remaining fungal contaminants are removed from its environment. If you follow this procedure you will very effectively eliminate the problem. Best of Luck…Rich Hollander
Oh Jimbo…I forgot to mention that when you re-introduce your terrapin back into its clean tank a couple of capfuls of pima fix is a good preventative for a couple of weeks. Regards, Rich
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