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Baby eastern painter missing shell

22 16:38:58

Question
I have a hatchling that i found earlier this spring, and i found it this morning missing pieces of the shell. A chunk off the back end of her shell you can actually see what looks like bones. I have the proper lighting and i feed them the right foods. is there any way to get her back to good health? I have two other little babies like her and another bigger turtle that is probably a year older then all of them. could they have done this to her? any help would be appreciated. Thank you

Answer
This is either due to trauma or a form of shell rot.

Getting it healthy is rather easy, but it takes time for the shell to regrow.

If it is rot, it could have come from one of the others and the high stress of captivity triggered it in her, or from any of a hundred other sources.

The general plan is:

1. Review basic cares to ensure you are rock-solid. I recommend http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for ideas. (I know you said that everything is OK, but please understand that most people who write me do indeed have glitches that need to be addressed.)

2. If possible, isolate the injured turtle and boost overall temps to about 80-85F.

3. Minimize stress, noise, vibration, handling, etc. Without causing stress, keep the water sparklingly clean (basically, get a good filter).

4. Once a day, take the ill turtle and scrub the shell clean, then swab the injured area with Betadine Solution. Let dry for an hour or two and return to the tank.

5. Consider adding some Stress Coat with Aloe (a fish tank medicine) to the water to reduce secondary infections.

It will take about a month to clear up and start to heal fungi or most other causes of rot.