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Post Posted: Tue Apr 07, 2015 11:10 pm   i have a question!!!

Hey guys we are new here and new owners of turtles we are worried about our RES we have two. I think there's a problem with one of them. The shell is soft fragile what should we do?
Diego & Delia
 
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Joined: Apr 7, 2015
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Apr 08, 2015 4:09 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

There's a lot of information that would be helpful to us before we can make any immediate diagnosis. If the shell is noticeably softer than your other turtle, than be sure to tell us what happens when you feed both jointly. The other one might be taking certain food high in calcium that is stopping the other from getting full nutritional benefits. How old and long are these turtles?
55 Gal(US) tank,
One Female Red Eared Slider
Name: Brixie
Bought on February 6th, 2011
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Peva
 
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Joined: Mar 2, 2010
Location: Englewood, Colorado
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 1:02 am   Re: i have a question!!!

Honestly, I am not sure how old they are. We got one of them in November of last year and the other one in December. Squirt, the first one we got, is about 2" long and Sunny is about 1 1/2" long. They both eat the same portions of food and they both bask, I have UVB and UVA lamps for them. I really don't know what is wrong with Sunny, but we are really worried. Can you give us some advice?
Diego & Delia
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Apr 7, 2015
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2015 4:53 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

How much are you feeding them? What kind of food? Can you post a picture of them and their setup?
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steve
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Location: New York, NY
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Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:17 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

Try feeding certain foods high in calcium (Cuttlebone is good, many turtles don't like to eat it though...) and feed Sunny by himself.
55 Gal(US) tank,
One Female Red Eared Slider
Name: Brixie
Bought on February 6th, 2011
User avatar
Peva
 
Posts: 393
Joined: Mar 2, 2010
Location: Englewood, Colorado
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 2:59 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

Image

Image

Image
Diego & Delia
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Apr 7, 2015
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:00 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

It's just a 10 gallon aquarium set up. But, I have a 75 gallon on the way.
Diego & Delia
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Apr 7, 2015
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 3:07 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

I have been feeding them cuttlebone and WARDLEY STICKS is fortified with calcium I feed them 4 sticks at 9am and 4 more at 5pm, is it to much?
Diego & Delia
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Apr 7, 2015
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 4:35 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

Not sure what Wardley Sticks are. I love your set up, it looks great, but it'll be nice when they get that huge 75 gallon. Again, be sure to feed them seperatley to help monitor the diet of Sonny.
55 Gal(US) tank,
One Female Red Eared Slider
Name: Brixie
Bought on February 6th, 2011
User avatar
Peva
 
Posts: 393
Joined: Mar 2, 2010
Location: Englewood, Colorado
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:03 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

You might want to switch the gravel with sand.

Are you sure the shell isn't normal? Many hatchlings have pliable shells.
Last edited by Jeremiah on Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:41 pm, edited 1 time in total.
Jeremiah
 
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Joined: Jun 7, 2013
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:26 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

thanks Peva, I'm going to start feeding them separate . can you guys tell me how much and how to feed them to maintain there diet.
Diego & Delia
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Apr 7, 2015
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:42 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

Check out this link (these guidelines are for pellets): http://www.redearslider.com/pellets.html
Jeremiah
 
Posts: 575
Joined: Jun 7, 2013
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Apr 10, 2015 5:49 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

Jeremiah. i don't think is normal well i dint know, when we first got it , it wasn't like that it just started last Sunday. and the shells does bend is really fragile
Diego & Delia
 
Posts: 7
Joined: Apr 7, 2015
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Sun Apr 12, 2015 2:18 pm   Re: i have a question!!!

When was the last time you changed your UVB lights? A lot of people tend to change them after about 6 months, as they stop giving out UVB and therefore Vitamin D3 (which converts calcium into a usable form, which hardens the shell). Also important here is your light placement. It seems that your heat/UVA bulb is centered above your basking spot, but the UVB one is above the water. Your turtles can't adequately absorb UVB rays in the water.

Giving calcium does no good without any sources of Vitamin D3--whether dietary or light-based. A soft shell is usually the result of D3 deprivation, and a MBD symptom! All that being said about the lights, I also looked at the Wardley's pellet ingredients, and they don't contain Vitamin D3 either. All of these things are possible reasons for your turtle's soft shell problem.
Jeremiah
 
Posts: 575
Joined: Jun 7, 2013
Gender: Male


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