Alligator snapping turtle shell HELP!

Homer Siped

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 30, 2015
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Why have you not went to a vet??? Looks awful skinny to me. I don't believe ast shed the scutes like a res, Ive had a cst for going on 6 years and he's never shed a scute before. If that were my turtle he would have seen a vet a long time ago. Looks an awful lot like she'll rot to me. Needs to see a vet asap. Get rid of the goldfishes for food, they are no good for a turtle, get some cheap steaks, pork, chicken, shrimp.Word to the wise. Goldfish are garbage fish as far as nutrition goes. To compound the problem they also contain Thiaminase which is an enzyme that blocks the absorbtion of B1. This can lead to neurological problems and death. Goldfish also usually contain parasites.
 
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kljr

Exodon
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2013
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Update on my turtle. It seems to be getting better, so i'll observe for awhile more before deciding to send him to a vet.

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brynjar

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 29, 2015
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How old is he? Keep up the good work. This is not shell rot, its a caused by malnutrition and maby stale acid water. But its going in the rigth direction. Varied food - i feed mine with living fish (sometimes goldfish too!), mice, rats, snails, chicken, shrimp with and without shell, salmon, earthworms and turtle pellets and supplements! I'd say the turtle pellets make up at least 30% of his food. The supplerments are added to salmon or chicken once in a while, ill let it dry a bit then feed him. I also use UVB

I grow water plants in a frog tank and throw in with him and he always has live platys.

Keep up the good work my friend these guys are tough and a recovery is not impossible.

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kljr

Exodon
MFK Member
Mar 29, 2013
42
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My turtle is around 5-6 years old i think. Nice looking turtle there! Your water level seems pretty high, is he able to get air from above?
 

kabaltah

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Jun 4, 2008
70
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Turkey
Is there any update on your turtle kljr ?
My turtles had the similar issue. I took them out of aquariums a few months ago and started to keep them in plastic containers. Changed their water every two days since then, and threated the water with a commercial blackwater extract, triple dosage. Their condition greatly improved, not totally solved the problem but this kind of care restored lost color on white scutes. and almost no new scutes fell. Although fallen scutes didn't come back.
I decided that the reason is hard water and not good enough filtration. Frequent water changes and softening the water via blackwater extract almost solved the problem for me.
An update on my turtle, shedding scutes again

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TroyMIfishkeeper

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Dec 7, 2015
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Troy, Michigan USA
Please Do not feed your Alli Snappers Goldfish!
They contain Copper Sulfate. Your AST will slowly die.
I hear this all the time, and I'm not saying your wrong, but I'm curious how people know this? Does copper sulfate occur in them naturally? I've always been told not to feed goldfish and I don't use them as a staple food source but I've never had trouble with it, other than my fish sometimes getting bacterial infections (now I'm a little more wary about buying feeders).
 

Homer Siped

Jack Dempsey
MFK Member
Aug 30, 2015
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They have tiasamain as well which can lead to neurological problems, parasites as well. They contain nothing as far as protien or nutrition. I do know this, I used to feed my cst goldfish and was advised not to, as soon as I quit feeding them he started growing really fast
 
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