General Care Discussion :: Shell question

[sublime1008]

OK this post is going to be of no help, but here it goes;

I was browsing the site and this dude made a post with a picture of his hybrid turtle. (It has red stripes on it, which the moderator was concerned about...). Anyway, the pictures of the shell are identical to my turtle;

it looks like its "dry" almost....like u just want to moisturize it. He seems perfectly happy and basks like 18 hours a day. If anyone knows what im talking bout lemme know

thanks,

[marisa]

I remember that post (and I think I was the person who raised the question about the red stripes, which after seeing the pic of how the turtle used to look, looked fine).

I'm not sure what your question is. Does your turtle have a dry-looking shell like that?

[sublime1008]

yes, My turtle has a dry looking shell like that....i think it changes sides too (like one side will be dry, then another portion will be).


Also, I've read so much about pyramiding but I havent seen many red ear slider pictures with it (only like tortoises and such)....is it that the WHOLE middle portion is raised larger than the bottom scutes? Or is it that each individual octagon is raised up?

Thanks!

[marisa]

A pic of your turtle's shell dry would be good--am not sure about the drying changing sides. Does one side appear dry then the dryness clears up/scute sheds and the other side side appears that way? Is the condition to the extent that the turtle's in the other post is?

I've read that pyramiding is less common in aquatics than some other species, so maybe that's why you don't see as many pics of it, although it does happen. Each scute/plate becomes raised so that the shell takes on a bumpy, uneven appearance (don't really know what you mean by each octagon being raised up...).

[soldier1]

i want to know what can i do to keep my turtles shell looking clean and healthy thanx for ur help.

[steve]

most people don't do anything, though a lot of people gently scrub the shells with toothbrushes.

[soldier1]

thanx and do you why it has a darker colour than it it did before

[sonyj]

RES lose their bright green coloring as they grow. Adult RES are much darker than baby RES, so much so that it was once believed to be a different species altogether from the juvenile RES that are bright green. If your turtle's coloring is darkening the reason may be simply that he's growing up.

[marisa]

soldier1, how big/old is your turtle?

[VaBatGirl]

I took Nelson to the Vet (big guy with stripes and dull shell) and posted the response

[da sAUCE!]

yes, as said, RES lose their brilliant green hues with age. More dark green/brown as they grow older.