How to Easily Fix Shell Rot in Turtles

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Today, I'm showing you how I helped to heal the shell rot on my red ear slider which developed over the past number of years when previous owners didn't give him proper heating or basking areas.

Shell rot can begin when a semi aquatic turtle doesn't have proper basking areas or heating, or when a land turtle is in too humid of an environment. This causes the shell to always stay wet or moist and end up rotting away. This treatment kills any bacteria or mold causing this rot which allows the shell to heal over time.


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GoHerping's goal is to explore and share the importance of reptiles and amphibians, along with helping and teaching captive herp keeping beginners and enthusiasts.

[GoHerping]

Forgot to mention, keeping your turtle out of the water more often, allowing the shell to stay dry more, will help improve it more quickly.

[truthbetold]

I love the fact that your a young guy educating with a great amount of useful info...thanks dude

[charlottehayes]

this is such a great video! my turtles had shell rot last year and there weren't really any good, clear videos on what to do! This is exactly what i did and they are fine now! good for you and thank you!

[No_Sleep]

Ever heard of ASMR? Cause you'd be great at it, your voice is relaxing.

[AA-luvq]

First off, my daughter and I watch these teaching vids and think you are so awesome. We both just looked at each other when you said his name Franklin because we watch that cartoon on qubo everyday, and my daughter (age 5) was like "Wow Mommy that's Franklin in real life! They made a cartoon after his baby turtle!"
Second, I didn't think of povidone. That's a great idea. I got our turtle from a nurse, ironically, whose daughter "outgrew her turtle" she says and they knew I'd be a good Mommy for it cause I also have a ball python I raised since a hatchling and have taken care of through several moves, and even when homeless when I was pregnant.
Anyway, they definitely had poor husbandry and my turtle is just now getting better. I used an idea I got off youtube about making a coconut oil water soak and sure enough, she shed. I didn't even know what scutes were and was like panicking at first, lol. I also followed a few suggestions and made improvements to her 'house' and she seems happy.
Anyway, long post but all that to say you rock and keep up the fantastic videos. Thank you so much.

[MalonzeProductionsGaming]

hes so chill.. my turtle hates being touched. hisses at me lol

[jennywithlime]

Been considering adopting an adult red eared slider from a friend for a few months, your videos are very informative and, at least for us, encouraging. So thank you for sharing~

[BlackBunnyBamaLam]

Whoa...I'm just an artist looking for way to mold turtle shells (dead not alive) & found this very impressive presentation. #1-surprised and awed that you care enough about this turtle to do what you did to heal its shell and #2-your calm and very concise instructions! There's a world out there looking for you! You have something special!

[rebeccabusby]

Thank you so much for making Shell Rot sound repairable at home instead of some critical concern!

[ratman]

I have a red eared slider, he's a pretty chill guy

[jamesabarela]

OMG 😲 Your 🐢 is so chill... Totally comfortable with you handling it, he's even trying to climb on your leg...mine is like NO WAY JOSE!!! don't touch me, don't even look at me. When I first got him, he was shy of course. Then as time went on he became more and more comfy with me and would even swim up to the glass to get some food and eat from my hand... Then suddenly one day (and I have my suspicions) he wanted nothing to do with anyone and was terrified of me...and ever since then he hasn't let me near him. I never see him eat. He runs away all the time and is totally on edge whenever I hold him... I think someone did something to him or dropped him or something. That's the only thing i can think of. There is only one other person that has access to him and that person swears on everything holy that they didn't do anything to him or accidentally. But I don't believe that. Hopefully he will come around again and trust me 😢 soon cuz he's a cool lookin dude and I like him...and ill shut up now!!!

[linkinparkluver]

Very informative! I just rescued two turtles and I'm obsessively doing research about them. They don't appear to have any shell rot, thankfully, but now I won't panic and I'll know what to do if they ever do. I also noticed Franklin is very calm with you. I know turtles generally aren't comfortable being handled (even when they trust and love you, like yours does) but I was worried the two I rescued just weren't very sociable because they'd been kept in one of those cursed china town carriers for their whole lives... They generally calm down if you stroke their shells gently, but I haven't even thought of just letting them roam around on my carpet, ha!

[robsmith]

This is the best step by step video I've seen by far for cleaning and taking care of turtle rot. My poor little girl just had some I found yesterday and had no clue what to do. First I went out and got her a dual heat and UVB bulb which comes delivered tomorrow and that should stop this from happening In the future. And today I just did her 1st cleaning following this video. Thank you for doing this video for us. :-)

[thabuloodles]

Thanks alot
Great Video
When you do put him back in the water do you wash it off??

[rebeccacurran]

Great informative video. I have a yellow eared slider too. Such a friendly turtle!

[lorisallade]

Great presentation. Good editing. Great voice. Clear with good tempo, easy to understand/follow. Very professional.

[rhondaann]

Thank you for educating on shell rot fix. My Red ear slider, I have had for 20 years, Franklynn (she). So hi to your Franky turtle.

[BlaiseByrd]

I did a summer internship at the Karen Beasley turtle rescue and rehabilitation center, so I have done this quite a lot.

[ashleydeshazo]

This worked really well on my sideneck. We took him to an exotic vet afterwards just to be sure, but it was completely gone!
The one thing we struggle with is shell fungus. I spot clean his tank daily, monitor the water chemicals, give his shell a good scrub weekly, and wash the whole tank monthly. He also has a really good filter and I rinse the filter pad weekly and replace it every two cleanings. He also gets 1/3 water changes every week. I make sure he has enough calcium and he has a good UVB light and a dry place to bask. I just can't seem to get rid of the stuff for good. It's not sticky or soft like shell rot, but more like a dry, white substance. Before I got him, one of his two previous homes had seen a bad fall that left some crackage along his shell. It's healed up fine, but the fungus always seems to retreat into the old cracks. It's an almost seasonal thing we deal with on a regular basis. The vet told me I could use althlet's foot cream or a more...erm...feminine type of cream, as both funguses are in, the dame family as shell fungus. Both of these things seem to work- first, I use the very mild soap to wash his shell. I dry him thoroughly, then coat the affected areas with the cream. I let him wander the carpet for about an hour so it does its thing. I then wash it again thoroughly and put him back in his tank. Every time he gets a serious outbreak, I give him some dry dock time and flush out his whole tank. Even with all this, I can never seem to keep the fungus away permanently.
Is there anything I can do, or is something we'll just have to deal with?

[GAMINGMATRIXXX]

Watching this in 2022. My 3 year old Reeve’s Turtle, Willow, has Shell Rott. I will use your method and hopefully it will cure it. Thank you.