General Care Discussion :: Are my turtles shells healthy?

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Thu Sep 28, 2017 8:05 pm   Are my turtles shells healthy?

Hello everyone!

So a little history about my turtles, I have two named Felicity and Oliver. I've been having them for about four months now. I had them when they're babies. During the second month, I went on a vacation for three weeks and left them to my fiance to turtle-sit them for me during the time. He turned both of their lights on (basking and UVB) every day and turned them off after. He fed them two times a day. During that time, he was only feeding them dried shrimp, wax worms, and crickets. Felicity grew incredibly fast, two times her size within three weeks. He was too busy and didn't change their water. They started smelling and their shells started having white/grey lines. After I came back, I immediately changed their water and stopped feeding them insects. I fed them pellets only and sometimes some lettuce or cabbage. I bought Nature Zone Turtle and Tortoise shell saver and apply to their shell once a week.

Pictures of their shells two months ago before I left:
https://ibb.co/hCbBKa
https://ibb.co/mxURkF
https://ibb.co/cFimkF

Pictures of them while I was away:
https://ibb.co/fXiUkb
https://ibb.co/c9Zryw

Their size differences when I got back (Oliver left, Felicity right):
https://ibb.co/eo8Nsv

However, it's been four months now. I've seen my brother in law's turtles, my turtles and his were the same batch. His turtles were super green and the shells look so healthy. He puts them in a 40 gallons tank, while mines are in a 10 gallons tank. But my turtles are way bigger than his. I live in a trailer and I don't have enough room for a 40 gallons tank but I am moving next month to a bigger place so I will be upgrading their tank asap. I have both lights, their basking area is at 90 degrees and their water is at 75-80 degrees. I have a filter and a heater. I change half of their water once a week and a full water change once a month.

So their shells condition now, they don't have those white/grey lines anymore but when they're underwater they have these grey/shiny spots and even under them too. They've recently shed a little bit last week. Their shells just aren't smooth anymore. I used to feed them twice a day, but I noticed that they have these loose skin. So I only feed them once a day now and I feed each of them the same amount (six pellets each). Felicity is still bigger than Oliver but Oliver is catching up too. Maybe I overfeed them before? But it's weird how Felicity is still bigger than Oliver because I always feed them the same amount. Anyways, curious why they aren't as green as they used to be. They're super energetic, love to eat and bask, they come up to me when I'm about to feed them, and they eat when I hand feed them too which I don't always do it.

Pictures of their shell dry now (Oliver left, Felicity right):
https://ibb.co/nyAaQb

Shell with Nature Zone moisturizer:
https://ibb.co/fftJdw

Pictures of their shell under water:
https://ibb.co/cbB75b
https://ibb.co/nthrWG
https://ibb.co/jMXQrG
https://ibb.co/chfpJw
https://ibb.co/bOreJw
https://ibb.co/hPtgWG

Current setup:
https://ibb.co/n0i9Jw

So yeah, are their shells healthy? Should I be worried, change something?
Last edited by Biggreatday on Fri Sep 29, 2017 2:26 am, edited 1 time in total.
Biggreatday
 
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Post Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 1:39 am   Re: Are my turtles shells healthy?

So both have been overfed, and they should be fed separately since one usually outcompetes the other. It's normal for them to get darker when they get older, and the green detail on the plastrons become large brown splotches (you can see that happening already). The skin on males could also turn darker/grayer. With a correct diet, things should smooth out a bit.

As for the whitish lines... it's likely fungus. Sometimes shedding and hard water can make things look white, but the spread pattern looks like its shell fungus to me. Lack of basking probably contributes to this condition... and once it starts, you will need some meds to treat it.

So there are some issues, but I think you can fix it if you put the time and effort into it. The fungus will continue to spread and the shell issues/pyramiding could be permanent if not addressed.
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steve
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Post Posted: Fri Sep 29, 2017 4:08 am   Re: Are my turtles shells healthy?

Steve covered it well and I agree . This forum has some informational stickies above each topic that will help with your little guy's issues.
Also the main page for the forum : http://www.redearslider.com/ will help with details.
You can also just use the search box to see post that will go into details.
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