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Hi,
I got two turtles a month ago. and both are healthy now.
I just recently noticed that turtles front right leg one claw or finger is missing.
I have not noticed it when i first bought it from the pet store. May be it was missing since by any accident there.
I am not sure if it got into accident of his finger while in my possession.
Let me know if it is normal for turtles to get into such accidents, Will it affect its over all growth or behavior in future.

Post some pic's of it and of the habitat so we can see.

My Piggley lost his males prominent claw to the skin. It grew back in time ! Just make sure you always keep the tank super clean and the claw so infection does not set in.

What size are the two ? If babies may not be from aggression , yet. Read all you can and learn all you can. You will find that one day they must be separated. Two males at maturity will not get along always fighting , male/female the male will harass female for sex to the point she will hurt him sometimes very badly. Then two females yes could get along if and only if there personality's are the same. Good luck with that one. The smaller the tank you have the faster these things show up , becomes a territorial thing. Most turtles are very happy by themselves.

A missing claw won't affect your turtle. Just check if the wound is clean and healed. Besides turtle fighting each other, it's common for them to get hurt because of their environment. They can be quite rough so you need to be sure there isn't anything sharp, places where they can get stuck (them or part of their body).

This is the small tank i am keeping. Night time i keep less water. And day time i keep more water. I also put a lamp above for heat at daytime.


The two turtles are here. I purchased a month ago. Probably they are 7 to 8 months.


One of the turtles claw missing pic is here.

First of all, it's time for you to spend more money on your pets !
You honestly should buy an actual fish tank for them. there's barely swimming space from what i'm seeing and the water is super shallow. For a baby RES, 20 gallon is the minimum. You will need to buy a lamp for a UVB lightbulb (this is obligatory). A thermometer for your water, and if needed a basking light as well (this depends on your room temperature). You do not need to take the water away at night.

About the claw, it looks like he either was born like this or it's already fully healed, i wouldn't worry about this at all.

Yes look into a tank ! UVB is a must for any size turtle indoors ! To get a turtle under a UVB one needs a heat lamp this entices them to bask. I would not depend on "room" temperature because a babies basking area needs to be 90* and the water temp at 80* ! A turtle needs to thermoregulate it's temp and room temp does not allow this. So both a heat bulb and a UVB bulb is need. Stay away from full spectrum bulbs they are inadequate for turtles ! With babies growing so fast they need proper lighting more so , this will help prevent bone disease , helps digestion , helps metabolism of calcium ...

Must reads : http://www.redearslider.com/light_sources.html

http://www.redearslider.com/lighting_issues.html

The water is to shallow even for babies. If they fall on there backs will never be able to right themselves and drown. Two to three times the shell length would be safer. Myself have always set a tank up for babies at the adult size tank , saves on all those up grades over the years. That's a 150 gallon tank with 18-20" water even for a baby , been doing it like that over five decades with no problems. BUT I do offer "lots of resting spots" all over the tank if they get tired not just a one basking dock. As I said that's how I do it to save lots of money over time. Not everyone may be able to do it but you for two babies you do need a larger tank. Ten gallons of water alone per inch of shell ! Yes this give more room to swim but it more for you to be able to control the waters parameter's alone with a filter.

Look at top header on this page and study all the links provided, especially the lighting and basking section.

The claw looks like old wound , not a problem. It will do fine if it does not grow back.

Thanks all. All your advices are helpful.
I will be keeping more water. I will get a UVB bulb as well.

I am also planning to make my own customized large tank soon for the baby RES with basking area with Lamps and multiple resting places.

Thanks to check on the missing claw. I was worried. Good to know that this is an old and healed wound. I started observing more on the turtles to check all health signs.

Very glad to hear you are planning on a big upgrade for your RES

You'll see, setting up a tank might be a lot of work (and money) at first but once everything is in place it's very rewarding ! And RES do tend to have a lot of personalities, it's a lot of fun to be a turtle keeper !