Does my baby Fl Box Turtle have shell rot/ fungal infection?

[MichaelL]

Hi everyone,

I have some recent Fl box turtle hatchlings, they are doing great and are relatively active and have a big appetite. They are eating mealworms, waxworms, isopods, roaches, etc. However, as I was soaking them, on one of the five I noticed what looks like some form of shell rot or a fungal infection on the underside of the carapace. It is only on one, all the others do not have any signs of this. Should I cut back on spraying down the enclosure? It is pretty humid and moist.




Thanks!
Michael

 

[wellington]

A lot of box turtle hatchlings are raised in water for some time, so I don't think it's from being to wet.
Looks to me, what I can tell, the pic gets a bit blurry when I try to enlarge it to see what you are seeing. But my guess would be it was scraped on something of another baby did something.
See what @Yvonne G thinks.

 

[MichaelL]

A lot of box turtle hatchlings are raised in water for some time, so I don't think it's from being to wet.
Looks to me, what I can tell, the pic gets a bit blurry when I try to enlarge it to see what you are seeing. But my guess would be it was scraped on something of another baby did something.
See what @Yvonne G thinks.

Yeah I was thinking the same thing about how it shouldn't be from being too wet. Not sure if this size is better for the pictures.

 

[wellington]

Does it's legs look puffy? I circled the part in the pic.
I'm not sure about the other marks. Some look like a scrape. The white, are you sure it's not calcium and will rub off? The other, that you circled, looks like defect or growth by the back leg.
I'll tag @Tom

 

[MichaelL]

Does it's legs look puffy? I circled the part in the pic.
I'm not sure about the other marks. Some look like a scrape. The white, are you sure it's not calcium and will rub off? The other, that you circled, looks like defect or growth by the back leg.
I'll tag @Tom
View attachment 379957

Hmm, yeah I don’t think it’s calcium since it is basically part of the shell and wouldn’t rub off. Regarding the puffiness, I think that was just because it was after it had soaked for a bit, usually they get like that after soaking. Thanks for the feedback.

 

[Tom]

Some people use "the water method" of raising box turtles and actually keep them in shallow water, so I doubt that spraying it making it too wet.

I can't see a problem in your pics. If you suspect a shell infection, which is very unlikely for the species, I would brush the area clean with a tooth brush, apply some betadine with a Q-tip, and let it dry out. Keep the baby in a dry area for a couple of hours. Then rinse and put it back in the enclosure.

What are you using for substrate in that enclosure?

 

[MichaelL]

Some people use "the water method" of raising box turtles and actually keep them in shallow water, so I doubt that spraying it making it too wet.

I can't see a problem in your pics. If you suspect a shell infection, which is very unlikely for the species, I would brush the area clean with a tooth brush, apply some betadine with a Q-tip, and let it dry out. Keep the baby in a dry area for a couple of hours. Then rinse and put it back in the enclosure.

What are you using for substrate in that enclosure?

Ok thanks very much for the input. Yeah I was just worried about it being the start of something like this I have seen in young gopher tortoises. But that’s very good to know, and I’ll do that anyway to be safe. Regarding substrate, it’s a mix of coco coir and topsoil.