General Care Discussion :: "plates" peeling on shells of RES babies

[Jimmerz]

Hi, New here, and new to the turtlekeeping world. I bought a hatchling RES for my daughter for xmas which of course she named "Franklin", and ended up buying "Harriet" about a week later.

Also, they seem to love romaine lettuce, and shrimp, what other veggies do you guys reccomend?

I had trouble getting these guys to bask initially, however dropping the water temp down to 78 degrees seemed to do the trick.

Something I noticed though when I brought them home was that it appears as though the little "plates" of their shells , for lack of a better word are beginning to peel in a couple locations. Is this normal, and just caused by their growth? Or is it something I need to be concerned about?

Something else I'd noticed while reading here, was that handling babies was a no no as it induces a lot of stress. Maybe I just have a couple of oddballs here, as my girlfriend has been handling them both regularly since day 1 and they have become very sociable. In fact she usually soaks their Reptomin pellets and feeds them off of her chest while lying on the bed. They also seem perfectly content to hang out with her while watching TV.

If she's not around at feeding time, I usually just feed them both by hand in their tank, but after they bask, they sit in the corner of the tank nearest my desk watching everything I do, obviously wanting me to give them the attention that she does.

After being made to feel guilty , when i walk over to the tank, they both swim up to the top to greet me as if it's feeding time again. Initially I thought they just wanted more food, however this is not the case, as I tried giving them more reptomin the first couple times this occured. Fact is they want to be held. It's amazing how much personality these little guys have. I'll have to try and get picture of franklin sleeping in the cleft of my GFs chest, it's quite a sight.

[Amg81083]

Ok, I see a few things wrong with your post. First of all- there are quite a few people who read this forum who are relatively young which means your last comment is quite inappropriate. Even as an adult I would find that offensive. Please don't post anything of that nature.

Second- RES need water to be able to eat... If your girlfriend does feed them the way you describe and doesn't put them into water right away you could be risking them choking... They need water to swallow because they do not produce saliva.

Posting a normal photo ie JUST Franklin & Harriet with dry shells will help determine whether or not the peeling is normal or not...

Reading around the site will help you determine what to feed them- just go to the feeding section. There is a lot of great information.

[SpotsMama]

I second what Amg81083 said - there's a lot of info on this site that will be helpful to a new turtle owner. Browse around and then if you have questions, feel free to ask away.

On the peeling - it may be perfectly normal or it may be an indication of a problem. If you can post photos, it would be most helpful.

[mikee]

Jim-her-- I don't know about you girl friends chest, but taking them out of the tank is not a good idea. They cool off very quickly and then you put them back in the tank and they warm back up. They are cold blooded and cool off through out. What people don't understand that they are wet and the water evaporating off their bodies causes them to cool off more so. If these turtles are eating out of the water they have to choke it down. They must have water to eat properly. I offer food to mine when they are on the basking area and they take it and jump right in to eat. Now as for your health: these guys have a habit of having salmonella bacteria and they are swimming around in their own poop and pee. I have had turtles for over 27 years and I would never have one in my bed or on my chest or near my bed. When tending to them, I wash my hands and or arms with antibiotic soap and dry with a throw away paper towel. Not only are you playing Russian roulette, you are playing it with a hair trigger with all chambers full. I know of what I speak and you should revaluate what you are doing to/with your turtles. If you wish to verify what I am telling you, you should call a herp. vet. and see what he tells you.