Help! I need advice for my Diamondback Terrapin!

[Lindsayyy]

Hi guys!
I have three Diamondback terrapins: Squirt, Franklin, and Tuck
We rescued squirt as a baby over a year ago and she has been very healthy until recently we noticed she is developing a few white spots in areas. We believe it is the beginning of shell rot and want to know if anyone has any suggestions as to how we should treat this problem.


As you can see the top right has the white patch, and there is also some white along the bottom edge of her shell too.

This one shows the bottom of her shell and the white area is more visible.

We had taken her to friend who is very experienced with turtles and suggested giving salt baths once a week which we have been doing but we are hoping that someone will give us more suggestions which can fix the problem. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Lindsay

 

[Kristina]

The best way I have found is this -

You want to dry-dock her for at least 24 hours. Keep her warm, but don't overheat her. About 80* is good, and give her a big enough area to get away from the heat if she wants.

Once she is good and dry, treat the affected area with a betadine solution. Mix betadine with water until it is a weak tea color, and dab it on the white areas. Allow it to dry completely for a few hours, and then allow her back in the water.

Keep an eye on the area, and you can do follow up treatments every couple of days if needed.

 

[Lindsayyy]

Thank you so much!
Where do you suggest to go for betadine?

 

[Yvonne G]

You can buy a pretty big bottle of it at a feed store. Otherwise, you can buy it for more $$ at the pharmacy.

 

[egyptiandan]

If it was just the spots on the carapace, I'd say you can treat that yourself. The plastron is a different story. That is the begining of some major shell rot and in a few places. It's time to go to a good reptile vet to get that treated.

Danny