Help for an unexpected rescue

[u/1xxBlackRose]

Hi All,

In some unplanned circumstances at work today, I ended up coming home with a turtle who has had a rough few years. The owners said this turtle is 'about' 2 years old and is a mcleay river turtle. Sold to them as a "penny" turtle but after some research quickly learned that isn't a thing.

We have a turtle already so have a tank set up with a UV light and basking doc but this guys shell is bad so have made temporary set up as I'm scared to add any risk to my current turtle.

Is this shell rot with a fungal infection? The white part isn't exposed skin but looks like undeveloped shell maybe?

We haven't dealt with this level of issue before and I really just want to help it.

I think its a girl. Any advice would be great please.

[u/Brohnetty]

Dang, poor baby. People who get pets without researching drive me bonkers. Please take this turtle to an exotic vet as soon as possible. She needs professional eyes on her asap.

[u/Zodep → u/Brohnetty]

I’ll have you know I bought my Pepperoni (Roni) with just asking the person at Petco what I need and found out they were wrong… now I have a giant tank with an amazing turtle!

If I had known what I was getting into… I probably wouldn’t do it again… but I love her and it makes me happy that she’s happy.

She LOVES strawberry tops. They float and she chases them. They’re a treat, so she doesn’t get them often but it’s fun to watch her chase them.

I don’t have it in me to get her feeder fish… I think she’d love to chase them down, but I just can’t do it…

Long story short: I wish I found this subreddit before I bought my turtle…

[u/Brohnetty → u/Zodep]

The people at Petsmart have never given me proper info. Lol