Urgent Care :: Soft shell???!!

[Aqua8]

The very end of Tortarita's carapace above her tail is some what flimsy, it can be moved upward or downwards... Could this be soft shell??

[SpotsMama]

How big is Tortarita? When they are brand new their shells are somewhat flexible, especially towards the tail. As they mature the shell should harden. By a year old it should be all hard.

It shouldn't ever be floppy, just flexible.

Be sure and always keep cuttlebone in the tank for calcium, and make sure she has a good UVB light to bask under. These are two necessities for a healthy shell - not the only two, but two big ones!

[Aqua8]

She's 5yrs old and about 2 and 1/2 inches long, she has regular UVB light running and I've started taking her out for an hour daily for sunshine. I have to go buy her some cuttlebone, planning for Friday when I get some guppies. With calcium should it get better??

[SpotsMama]

Ok. I remember now about this turtle. She looks like a hatchling but she's no longer green and she's 5 years old. Now she's displaying another hatchling-like characteristic. I'm really not sure what to say about this turtle except that it takes plenty of calcium in the diet plus good UVB to harden a shell, so if she's getting those things it may harden. Make sure she gets plenty of good quality pellets too. I think you can safely increase the amount she was getting in the past. The guppies sound like a good idea too.

Have you had her checked for internal parasites? I keep coming back to that since it's a common cause of little or no growth in a turtle. If she does have parasites I think it's going to be hard to get her nuitrition up to par - the parasites will keep taking it all.

I think it's also typical when internal parasites are bad that the turtle lacks energy, but you say your girl is a lively little thing. Still, I'd get it checked.

[Aqua8]

Ok thanks for the help Sportsmama. Yeah trust me I'm just as confused, I'll see when I can get her checked. And I'll get that calcium asap. I'll just keep monitoring it. Thank you.