Hello everyone,
Hope everyone has been doing well. Anyone get any new pets since we all last spoke? I've seen the posts but forgot to respond..... RJ is doing well.... We went through our first fever a few months ago and then when I removed alge off his back notice severe shell rot/softshell due to me being an idiot and filling up the water to high with an 80-watt lamp...... so he wasn't getting UV B rays.. I read a lot about softshell/ shell rot and got to working on it by buying povidone-iodine and this shell savor liquid which is basically aloe & avocado mix.... I kept RJ out of the water for 3-4 hours a day ( would clean shell with mild soap and let it dry, then apply iodine, let it dry and then do the shell saver ) shell was getting a bit better but I start to notice severe cracks runing down the shell and that made me freak out so thats when I relized my water level is too high with an 80 watt....so I went out, bought a 100-watt bulb, reducing the water level greatly - to the point, the water filter sucked up gravel and broke ( dont care upgrading soon, will get to that in minute ) and now its been a month since the whole thing started and the little guys shell is really comming back to form....it amazing to see his shell recover and look better daily... i stop using the idone and shell savor.... the lowering the water was all that was needed.... also added edable calsium and that turtle statue that dissolves and addes vitman D to the water.. only thing I notice now is the tip of his shell, the scales, some are bit loose ( loose only when wiggle by hand).... ive read that there is nothing you can do about it while they are young and only when they fully mature the tips then harden ... dont know if I will accept that answer as of now but little one is doing well..... started the upgrade process by buying a 45-gallon tank at pet smart, dragged it home only to realize that its the wrong type and isn't meant to hold water.... so returned and still haven't upgraded the tank yet.... probably going get a long 29 gallon in the next few weeks. Should be good for him for a while.... also noticed he is still very wild... still runs away from me and also only goes after big fish has no interest in little to mid-size... recently caught a fish that was longer than his shell, caught it right down the middle and kept biting till he split in 2.... then he ate two separate pieces.....it was a sight to behold and made up for all the times I cant catch him eating...he loves panda mollys = )