sick looking turtle.. please have a look and see if you can help

[welzii]

photo 1.

photo 2.

photo 1 and 2 are to show it's shell. it's been that way for just under a year now. i took him (was told it was a he when i bought it as a baby) to the vet 2 months ago because of it's shell looking unhealthy like that, and they said it was a healthy turtle. he gave me iodine solution and said to apply it twice a day to the shell and keep him out of water for an hour after applying it. he said after two or three months that it'd get better, but has gotten worse.

then the other day as i got him out the tank to put him in his feeding container, i noticed what you can see in photo 3.. on his leg and got more worried.

photo 3.

photo 4.

in photo 4, look around his shell, at his belly and the marks on his legs that you can see in photo 3.

just looking for help if anyone has seen these problems before. i will take him to the vet again soon but researching for one that seems to know more about turtles.

thanks for any help.

 

[Brock Lobster]

whats his enclosure like? water quality, ect?

 

[Eastern Snake Neck]

Hi welzii,

It is difficult to be too specific without actually inspecting the turtle, her enclosure or discussing certain aspects of her husbandry.

However, from the photos, I see several problems with this turtle:
• The shell is the wrong colour. It should be a similar colour to the lines between the shields;
• The shell shows signs of rapid and excessive growth;
• The skin is a sickly looking light grey. It should be a darker colour;
• The body is out of proportion - it is too big for the size of the head.

To me, the turtle looks like she has been overfed on the wrong food types, probably the frozen turtle dinners or pellets.


The growth on the leg looks like an injury, although it is hard to tell from the photo. The turtle may have cut herself, and the photo is showing the scab over the wound. However, I'm only guessing, based on the photo.

I would suggest a diet that may includes the following:
• Freshwater fish;
• Freshwater yabbies;
• Freshwater prawns;
• Freshwater snails;
• Tadpoles;
• Freshwater plants.

With this diet and regular access to sunlight, your turtle should show signs of improvement over time.

Meanwhile, you do need to seek veterinary treatment for the leg and deteriorating shell.

If you give us a rough idea of where you live, there will be people that can recommend a good reptile vet in your area.

Regards,
Michael.

 

[welzii]

thanks so much for the detailed help!

the vet said it was healthy and that the shell was normal for growin turtles.. grr good for nothin.

after i've kept him out of the water for awhile it does appear to be a scab behind it's leg. but i forgot to mention that it has the same on it's other back leg, and also the same (but much smaller) behind it's front legs.

you're right about the frozen turtle dinners and pallets. i'll be sure to start including the foods you mentioned, thanks alot for that michael. and i take them out for sunlight each day so that's not a problem. for the past few months i've been feeding it a frozen dinner block and few other little things (no other meats) every two days. is that too much?

this turtle and the other one of the same age (which has no injuries or a similar looking shell) grew too large for the tank they were in so we've build a pond in the back for summer. the weather was heating up so we put them out there but after it was continuously windy we made up large containers inside for them each which they're still in now. my guess would be they're been stressed by the change of locations? pond water started getting dirty when it was windy but they were moved before it got too bad.

my location is elizabeth downs in south australia, postcode 5113. cheers for help guys.

 

[Eastern Snake Neck]

Hi welzii,

Feeding every couple of days is fine.

My advice would be to move them back outside to your pond. Turtles are generally healthier when kept in outdoor enclosures.

If the water is getting too dirty you will need to filter it.

Now that I know that you have two turtles, it is possible that the injuries were caused by bites from the other turtle.

I cannot give you the name of a Reptile Vet nearby. However, if you started a new thread asking for the name of one near to you, I'm sure somebody would be able to help.

Regards,
Michael.

 

[welzii]

i take them out to the pond every day considering the weather permits. i don't trust them out there during bad winds, we've had plenty of escapes before and had to keep building to the pond. it has a filter but only kept on a third of the day. just had a really windy week last week with dust blowing into it.

anyway, they were scabs on him.. just didn't look it at the time. when i seen them and realised his shell hadn't been getting any better i feared the worst. the cuts are pretty much all healed, and i'm going to keep allying the iodine solution to it's shell a little while longer because the vet said it would take a few months, so i'm hoping. and with the new diet you recommended michael, hopefully i'll have a healthier turtle in coming weeks.

thanks alot michael for your keen eye and suggestions. you knew alot about my turtle just by the photos and saved me alot of time runnin round trying to help my turtle. thanks heaps.

 

[Bruizer22]

Hi,
I am really sorry to hear about your little turtle, I hope he is ok.

Have you seen anymore improvement in him?