General Care Discussion :: Plastron "spine" is big

[nT)Gauss]

Hey there guys.
Just as a warning I don't know the imperial's conversion.
Gauss is about 6cm big. I recently got him from my girlfriend who got it from her dad's friend since they didn't feel like taking care of it anymore as a gift. Anyways I can't post a picture as we don't have a camera right now so I will try to describe it as best as possible.
On the plastron there is a single line that runs from the front to the back and sort of splits the plastron into halves. Based on the pictures of previous turtles (http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=20018) as one example I can see that the left and right sides are quite close.
On my new turtle there are actually rather separate, possible 1.5mm (millimetres). It is a pinkish strip and rather soft, which makes me think it shouldn't be there. Any suggestions?

[megcornell]

It sounds like he's probably growing too fast. When turtles are overfed, their shells expand too quickly sometimes leading to large seams between the scutes and pyramiding (when one scute stacks on top of another because there isn't enough time for a proper shedding).
How old is your turtle and what are you feeding it? If you can, tell us what his previous diet and conditions were, as that will help determine what's wrong.

[nT)Gauss]

I have no info of his past. All I know is that my girlfriend asked to take the turtle from the other family because she saw how unfair it's life was. I am assuming there was no food one day, and too much food another. So far there is no hint of pyramiding, but the carapace near the back is spikey. The sides are smooth and aligned well.
I'll see if it's overfeeding, I feed it the normal head sized amount (actually a little less) and some romaine. I'll ease down on some food and sort of make him hungry (:( ) and see if that'll bring together his plastron.

[Dein211]

just remember that turtles dont need to be fed every day. veggies can be fed everyday but pellets should be given at least once every other day. treats, maybe once a week or once every two weeks. turtles are fatties when it comes to food and will not object to it if you give it to them constantly.

[Sammonkie]

Hi, what is the color of Gauss's plastron? If it is not anything close to pink and has the normal hardness, I hope that's not the case but suspect that that is a crack and the pinkish strip showing is actually the flesh. Please check whether Gauss has been dropped if possible. Also, is Gauss's basking and swimming alright? Please describe.

[marisa]

Can you post a picture of the plastron?