RES turtle: red plastron, crazy vet?

Question
My red-eared slider turtle, about 1 1/4 years old, seems to have septicemia. I think it's a she. She has alot of redness on her plastron, and a tiny bit on one of her, uh... "hands," in the thin skin between her claws. Today I went to a nearby vet to look at her, but he said that it was a he, that he just had an irritated plastron, and that I should give him some sunlight and put iodine on his plastron. The bottle he gave me says "10% iodine." But it also says that it's a disinfectant used on claws and hooves of some animals, or to clean food dishes. I live in Costa Rica and I'm not sure if there are any real herp vets around, but this guy is used to aquatic animals. Maybe just not turtles... I think he doesn't know what he's talking about. It doesn't sound like anything I read online. Is iodine really used like that? Should I find a different vet?

Answer
1st- male or female? At over a year old, you ought to be able ot tell by now. The male's belly will be curved inwards, and he will have a longer, skinnier tail and longer front claws.

The female's belly will be flat or bulged, with a shorter, stubby tail and short front claws.

2nd- I am NOT a vet, so these are just my guesses, OK?

Sunlight is always good for turtles- they need it to create vitamin D in their bodies- but the parts of sunlight that they need for this does not go through glass or most plastic. Vitamin D is key for healing and general health. The infrared rays of sunlight also help kill germs.

'Irritated' plastrons are a common problem, especially if there is some rough surface in the cage they are scraping against. Red-ears do nto usually crawl around on rocks, so if there are rocks, concrete, or other rough surfaces in your tank, you should change them.

Iodine should be fine. All he is trying to do is to keep anything from infecting the turtle further, and fighting any germs on the skin. Other people might use different medicines than this, but iodine will do the job nicely.

Iodine was commonly used for this pupose on humans and pets until other solutions, like Betadine, became more popular. We do not use iodine on people much anymore because it damages healthy skin cells, but with the turtle's tougher skin and shell, there is not a problem.

(By the way, his 'hands' would usually be called front or rear feet.)

OK- one thing I ALWAYS suggest with ill turtles is to go over your basic care and feeding plan to make sure you are giving the turtle good, solid care. My favorite place for this info is www.tortoise.org. These guys have a good site with good info. Maybe not as detailed as some others, but a great place to start.

Good luck!