bone showing and fungus

Question
Charlie is a red eared sider and his carapice length is about six inches.  he is about 3 years old.  i have had him that long.  the water is room temp as it is warm in the room and if i put the heater on he gets excessive shedding and the basking spot is 88-90degrees with a heat lamp depending how warm the room is.  he has a uvb light.

one of the scutes along the edge of the shell came off of my turtle now there is bone showing.  i have dry docked him and cleaned the area with iodine and he is going to see a vet tomorrow.  when dry docking how long do i hydrate for?  the vet looked it up and said 1 hour twice a day but it is so stressful for him to change tanks can i just put him in for two hours all at once or does it have to be twice a day?  

also i think he may have some fungus on his shell.  the scutes did not shed all the way and i did not pull them off so fungus grew underneith what do i do for this if anything until he gets to the vet?
your help would be appreciated
Michelle

Answer
Many reptile vets no longer recommend dry docking due to the stressfulness of it. Dr. Douglas Mader, for example, in his book "Reptile Medicine and Surgery" recommends treating, letting the treatment dry for an hour or two, then back into the water.

A typical home treatment would be something like this:
- Make sure the cares, water quality, etc. are rock solid. Try http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for specific details for your species.
- Boost water temps about 5F to help reinforce the immune system. This should put the temps at about 80-85F in the water.
- Keep the water very clean during treatment.
- Use either Turtle Sulfa Dip or the fish medicine Stress Coat per instructions to treat secondary issues.
- Once a day, remove the turtle, gently scrub the shell, rinse, and dry it off. Swab providone iodine (Betadine Solution) on all affected areas. Use it heavily. Once it is dry, add antibiotic ointment if the shell looks red or raw. Let everything dry for an hour or so, then back to the clean, warm water. (Silvadyne Cream is better if you can get it.)
- Every few days, inspect everything- reclean if the water is getting soiled or cloudy, remove any loose shell bits- snipping them off if still attached, etc. If you see solid signs of healing, cut back on the Betadine.

Good luck!