Urgent Care :: Questionable Shell...

[j3ss1c4w]

Hey all,

From reading through many of the posts on this forum, I've recently grown worried about my RES, Bowser. He doesn't bask even half as often as he used to and just seems to like sitting in the shade of his basking area underwater. What I have also gathered from the posts is that we are probably over feeding him. Any input would be great...

Some of the chutes are shedding and that's fine but in the picture that he is belly side down, the chute at the top left looks almost as if it has rotted away. Same with the one at the very bottom, left, just below my hand. In the picture where he is belly up, you can see right at the front on both sides the shells has cracked in between (see right above my thumb)

Is this all from him growing too fast? Is there anything I can do to help/fix it? Or is there something else?

Picture 1 http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a361/j3ss1c4_w/Bowser/imagejpg1.jpg
Picture 2 http://i15.photobucket.com/albums/a361/j3ss1c4_w/Bowser/imagejpg2.jpg

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How big is your turtle? 6 inches long, 5 inches wide
How long have you had it? 2 years in October

What is the water temperature? 78
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? Yes
How much water is in there? 30 gallons or so (in a 40 gallon tank)
Are you using a water conditioner? Whenever we put new water in
Are you using any filtration? Fluval 206

What is the basking temperature? In the 90s I think, haven't checked in a while..
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? So-so, we've been looking into making him an out of tank basking area since he's so big now..
What kind is it or what is it made out of? The medium sized floating turtle dock
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Pellets, lettuce, raspberries, carrots, apples, green and red pepper
When was the last time your turtle ate? This morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 40 gallon tank
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? So so. There's only two of us and we live in a one bedroom apartment so anywhere would have been high traffic.

[Joddog]

Check the temp in the basking area. If there isn't enough difference between water temp and basking temp, they won't bask. If it's too hot they won't either.

[steve]

This turtle has been overfed and has grown too fast, too quickly. This is a recent comment:

It's mostly retained scutes. Basically, the turtle grew too fast and didn't have enough time to shed properly. You will need to correct his diet. There is a risk of infection on the overlapping areas. Get a new, soft toothbrush and gently brush under those areas with clean water. If you can, use a disinfectant like Betadine or Hibiclens and dilute it when you do the scrub. Do not try to lift up those pieces.

viewtopic.php?f=4&t=36384

I'm not sure if what you're seeing is rot but a partial shed. Is it sensitive, soft, or smelly?

[j3ss1c4w]

Thanks for the replies. Growing too fast was my guess too after going through many of the threads on this forum. So doing 50% wheat germ pellets and 50% of his normal pellets should be a good balance to help his scutes? And obviously feeding him less than we were before.

[steve]

It should help, though the reduction is the key. If there are family members around, they need to be educated about it. The very least, sort the food out in a pill box if other people have access to it.