General Care Discussion :: pyramid shell

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 3:10 pm   pyramid shell

could anyone post a picture of a turtle suffering from a "pyramid" shell. I bought mine 5 days ago and I read a lot about shell problems, however I'm not quite sure what pyramid shell exactly looks like, I can't post a pic but I'm pretty sure 1 of my 2 turtles is having shell disfigurement. Is it normal if the center of their carapace is pointed ? Also, my local pet shop don't sell pellets with calcium, what else could I give them that would help their calcium needs ?
BewG
 
Posts: 10
Joined: May 1, 2008
Location: Québec, Canada
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 6:20 pm   

Here is a link with a good picture of pyramiding:

http://www.turtlestuff.com/pyramid.html

You will notice that the condition shows up as lots of little "pyramid" shapes all over the top of the shell.

If you still aren't sure, can you post a picture of your turtle?

Also, getting some "cuttle bone" (the stuff for birds to sharpen their beak on) is great for your turtle to snack on & provides lots of calcium. Just make sure you peel off the hard layer on the backside of the cuttle bone before you give it to your turtle.
Kristin's Pond! Starring:

RES = "Sheba", 21+ yrs. old
African Clawed Frog = "Prog", 10 yrs old
& "Kristin" as Momma
User avatar
industrial_girl_2000
Senior Member
 
Posts: 3232
Joined: May 11, 2006
Location: Farmington Hills, MI

Post Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 6:30 pm   

Nice to know your back industrial_ girl. Pyrimding looks like little pyrimds on there shell. And like IG said cuttlebone works.
User avatar
Take-One
 
Posts: 932
Joined: Mar 15, 2008
Location: Where Destiny is calling me.

Post Posted: Thu May 01, 2008 7:25 pm   

Welcome to the forum.

Are your turtles hatchlings? If so, it's not unusual for the center of the carapace going down the spine to look raised. (If you look at your turtle face on, the overall shape appears triangular.) As your turtle grows and the shells fills out, this will not really be noticeable.

The petstore near you doesn't sell any major brand of pellets (Reptisun, Zoo-Med, Nutra-fin, for example)? Every main brand of pellets that I can think of contains some calcium. If you can find Reptomin Baby (made for small turtles), it has a bit more calcium than regular Reptomin. Then you can supplement the diet with cuttlebone. If you can get him to nibble on a leafy green like dandelions, he'll get some calcium as well.

Aside from a varied and balanced diet, make sure he has proper lighting to bask under (a UVB light and a heat light). He needs UVB rays to provide Vit D3, which helps him absorb the calcium in his diet.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
marisa
Retired Mod
 
Posts: 12993
Joined: Apr 21, 2005
Location: CT, USA

Post Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:30 am   

Wow thanks for the help, both of my turtles have their spine raised, but the smaller one (1½inch shell size) has some kind of zig zag in it. I figure lack UV light might be the problem. The pellets I bought are nutrafin - basix, but they don't indicate that it has calcium in it :

crude protein : 34%
crude fat : 4%
crude fiber : 2.5%
moisture max : 10%

or maybe it has calcium in it but it's just not written on ?

as for the dandelions leaves, I just pick some in my backyard, wash them and feed it to them ?

I honestly didn't think having a turtle required so much stuff but I'll buy a UV lamp tomorrow,

thanks !
BewG
 
Posts: 10
Joined: May 1, 2008
Location: Québec, Canada
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 1:57 am   

Ya, that's totally the problem with RES; expensive and time-consuming.

As for the dandelion leaves, make sure that you don't use pesticides or weed killers. If you do, you can find them at a Giant Eagle (I don't know if other grocery stores carry them).
User avatar
Nettle
 
Posts: 734
Joined: Feb 19, 2008
Location: Ohayo

Post Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 8:15 am   

BeG -- Most pellets are short in calcium. I feed mine Reptomin and make sure the have a calcium block and or additioial supliments. Lower proteins and increase the veggies will help.
mikee
 
Posts: 1396
Joined: Nov 4, 2007

Post Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 12:22 pm   

I know this isn't my thread....

But a hatchling retaining two layers of scoots with one looking like it is coming off isn't pyramiding?
*Kat

Bala Sharks- three unnamed
Cats- Oreo & Lola
Goldfish- Spot, Brain
RES- Crush
Dragon Eel- Muffins II
VanishingReality
 
Posts: 308
Joined: Feb 19, 2008

Post Posted: Fri May 02, 2008 2:46 pm   

No, pyramiding is when they are overfed protein and their scutes start getting bumpy. Here's a thread about it.

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... highlight=

Usually retaining scutes is a sign of rapid growth.
User avatar
Nettle
 
Posts: 734
Joined: Feb 19, 2008
Location: Ohayo

Post Posted: Sat May 03, 2008 1:50 pm   

Retained scutes are more often a lack of proper husbandry (the turtle is not drying off enough to lose the old scutes).

BewG, the container doesn't have a list of the actual ingredients (fish meal, etc.)? Any calcium content would be listed there, not where the protein content, etc. is listed. No pellet contains enough calcium to supply the dietary needs of your turtle, which is why you should supplement with foods that are calcium rich.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
marisa
Retired Mod
 
Posts: 12993
Joined: Apr 21, 2005
Location: CT, USA

Post Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 7:11 pm   

yes it says :

fish meal, soy flour, wheat flour, oat flour, shrimp meal, yeast, kelp meal, fish liver meal, any of these contain calcium ? anyways I bought another pellet brand that stated calcium on it and give them lettuce + dandelion leaves, as well as carrots sometimes.

however I went to 2 different pet shops and they didn't have UVB lights, I bought an UVA one for the moment but from what I read on this site UVB is much more important for them so next week I'll try another pet shop that is 1hr road from here :/
BewG
 
Posts: 10
Joined: May 1, 2008
Location: Québec, Canada
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Mon May 05, 2008 7:30 pm   

It will usually state the form of calcium in the pellet (calcium gluconate, calcium carbonate, etc.) somewhere in the list of ingredients. If the fish meal contained ground-up bones, there would be some calcium in that, but there's no way to really tell.

Dandelions are really good, you can occasionally give collards, turnip greens as well.

UVB lights give off UVA rays as well (but not the other way around), so if there isn't access to natural, unfiltered sunlight, a UVB light is important.
"You become responsible, forever, for what you have tamed." -Antoine de Saint Exupery-
marisa
Retired Mod
 
Posts: 12993
Joined: Apr 21, 2005
Location: CT, USA

Post Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 1:25 am   Re: pyramid shell

I need help i think my res male 2 years old is pyramiding i cant provide a picture as it is to big but please help
Dkiller
 
Posts: 1
Joined: Apr 24, 2017
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Mon Apr 24, 2017 7:08 pm   Re: pyramid shell

Can you upload it to imgur.com and post the link? No need to create an account and it's fast/free.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu Sep 06, 2018 11:16 am   Re: pyramid shell

This is my turtle Muffin, can anyone plz tell me whether his shell is pyramiding or its fine? & if possible its gender too.. ☺
Plz reply..
Attachments
IMG-20180718-WA0006_1_1.jpg
MUFFIN & CHERRY
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Jul 18, 2018

Next

Return to General Care Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 12 guests