slider turtle

Question
we have a small slider turtle (no red ears) given to us about a year and a half ago.  The turtle had been doing fine and even better when we added a heat source for it some months ago.  However, the turtle has developed excess white skin at the back legs where the legs go into the shell.  you can even see the turtle breathe as this excess skin fills with air and deflates.  The white excess skin does not appear to be any kind of molting and there do not appear to be lesions of any kind in or around this skin. The skin is just very soft and it does not look natural. We called a vet but they seemed puzzled.  The turtle is eating well, and seems ok otherwise.  Any idea what this is? I am thinking something is wrong.   Thank you for your time.

Answer
Based on the description, it is either shedding or has a fungal infection. The 'white' bit makes me think fungi.

The simple treatment is to use a 'turtle sulfa dip' per directions. If it helps, great! If not...

1. Try to gently scrub off the loose tissue with a soft old toothbrush. Be very gentle, and don't work too hard on getting every little bit. Rinse the turtle in warm water.

2. Swab infested areas with Betadine Solution (generic- povidone iodine) and let dry for a couple hours.

3. If there is any skin injury, redness, inflammation, seeping blood, etc., apply some antibiotic ointment. Let dry  a while.

4. Return to the tank... which you carefully cleaned and disinfected in the meantime (but I forgot to mention).

5. Repeat daily, adjusting the care based on progress- reduce or eliminate the scrubbing ASAP, stop the antibiotic ointment when the skin looks better, and start skipping days as healthy skin appears.