Hope everyone had a good holiday! I bought Tortue home to five days of glorious sunshine...but it doesn't look like his minor soft shell problem is improving at all. I've been feeding him Nutrafin Basix and the UVB lamp is turned on 10 hours a day.

Right now, it's spread to another shute and the other shutes look sunken. HOW LA????

It is slowly turning white. :S And no can do, Tortue is at the office...that's why I have a UVB lamp.

Drascox: I guess as much! Went surfing on some turtle forums and realized that Tortue has fungus infection on his shutes. Luckily caught it soon. I did a salt soak for him for about 15 mins today together with some fungus guard medication (for fish punya) as temporary precaution.

I have him on drydock now (with my table lamp providing him some heat and light for tonight la) and will most probably do the same until he gets better. Although he doesn't look too happy being dry. Is it okay if I drydock him for the entire day except for feeding and drinking? I though RES are semi-aquatic turtles. (See pic below.)

OH, how do I drydock him while I sun him? Leave a couple cm of water or check him every hour or so to see that he doesn't overheat?

Btw, where can I get bethadine?

Okies dokies. Tortue has been drydocked for the past two days with iodine solution painted on the infected area. So far, so good. One of the shutes looks better, like the fungus receding but maybe it's just me.

Am thinking of keeping this up for the next few days/weeks - blah. That means I'll have to empty out his 1.5 ft tank, filter, plants and basking, etc, put it aside (under my workstation), adjust his heating lamp and UVB lamp and bring the iodine solution to work. O_O

Plus I noticed something about him. When he pees or poops during drydock, he'll start going nuts trying to climb out of his portable tank. If he's quiet and everything, it means he's happy or at least comfy.

Ekiddie: I got him on iodine so far which is what's recommended (it's the main ingrediant for bethadine)...so see how. If it doesn't work, I dunno leh. =.=

AND he's annoying me with his constant "trying to climb out but end up hitting the bottom of the tank", so I put a piece of filter sponge on the bottom of the tank as a lining.

This post has been edited by meiteoh: Oct 30 2006, 09:36 AM

Sayasebudak: This little rascal will try to crawl out non-stop for a few minutes after I put the iodine on and when he poops/pees. After that, he just settles down to tidur or just sits in a corner.

Actually he only pees/poops twice a day - once in the morning and once overnight - and because it stinks, he tries to get away...but you know la, drydock. After I clean the tank, he settles down and stays still. (My fish only poops while he's eating.) Sometimes he settles down when I take him to sun...like kid la, I tell you.

Iodine from pharmacy lor. RM4.90 a bottle.

Tortue damn kelakar today. Because I cannot tahan the sound of his shell hitting the tank bottom every time he climbs around, I put filter sponge on the bottom and a clean piece of A4 paper la.

I have a cardboard covering half the tank for "shade", the basking lamp turned on (it's anywhere between 28C to 30C for him now) and UV light aimed at an angle where under the shade oso can shine on him.

Anyway, he's sleeping, eyes closed and every thing, in one corner, closest to the basking light/under the shade. Ocassionally, he's like sleepwalker, start to scratch the paper like people getting comfy and then he'll turn here and there but the eyes will still be close. THEN, because the paper curls up around the corner and it's soft, he'll put his head down on it macam pillow. FUNNY MAN! I should take a pic la.

OOOOO...I am pleased to inform you folks that Tortue's fungus is slowly receeding (the one shute that was covered entirely in white is now 1/3 green!). Will take a pic tomorrow.

Eh, just wondering. Is it normal for Tortue to sleep all day long when he's being drydocked? (Actually there is nothing for him to do oso apart from sleep and pee/poop!)

Well, he's been drydocked for a few days already. I'm keeping him in his portable tank coz big tank too tedious to wash and dry and etc. His fungus is slowly clearing up but still drydock for at least 20 hours or less now?

Gamat? What's gamat???? Where to get ar?

No leh...I dunno lor....chinese medicine got la but I use the usual stuff.

Uz: What you mean by too dry ar??? How do I know for sure? :S

Wei, can't seem to find them gamat oil at the pharmacy. Mana lagi ar??? Herbal store?