General Care Discussion :: What am i seeing?

[OTRA 10]

Ive had my turtle franklin for about 8 months now, he's about 2 3/4 inches, and seems hapy with his tank. im just not sure whats going on in his shell. he has a uvb bulb (solar glo mvb). his shell was pretty similar when we got him but he has shed at least once in the time we've had him. we feed him a head size amount of pellets everyday, and veggies ( maybe not quite as regularly as we should, but quite often.also, there are yellowish shiny spots in some places when he is underwater, unfortunatly i couldnt get any good pictures but i can try again later. is he pyramided, retaining scutes or both. thanks

Steve

[joeybsmooth]

Can you get a picture of him dry ?

[BullDog]

The gold spots sound like scutes that are about to shed.

He does look like he's starting to pyramid. Are you feeding him any meaty (shrimp, fish, chicken, etc) treats? If not, maybe you should cut down the amount of pellets. It could be you're feeding him a bit more than a head-sized amount. It can be hard to judge sometimes.

[SpotsMama]

How long has he had his MVB? Does he bask under it much? Does he have a cuttlebone to snack on, or does he get a calcium supplement?

[steve]

I would think that his diet has been inconsistent causing irregular growth. Has anyone been sneaking him food?

[OTRA 10]

he has had maybe 10 shrimp treats in 8 months, and i would almost say were a little low on his pellets. hes had his mvb for 7 months and basks all the time. he gets cuttlebone fairly often, i try to remember to make sure that he has a piece but i forget sometimes. once in a blue moonhe gets an extra couple pellets (my g/f likes to give in to him), but thats maybe once a month.

[papoopeepoo]

he honestly doesn't look too bad to me, other than a little uneven shedding.

Maybe a dry picture will reveal more?

[mikee]

Ot – 10 Your turtle is pyramiding a little and that is caused by diet. If he is getting too much protein or is fed too much is usually the cause. I would suggest that you feed him every other day. I start mine on that regimen at 3 inches but I think that would help your turtle. The condition will not go away but it should not get any more pronounced. It is a good looking turtle. Another thing I would do is make sure the temps, lighting and filter are up to par. m.

[OTRA 10]

here are a couple dry pics if that helps. ill switch him to every other day for pellets as well. thanks

Steve

[SpotsMama]

He looks very sweet.

How far away from the basking platform is the MVB - like 12" or 18" etc.

Have you ever had a stool sample checked for parasites? It's pretty easy for a vet to do and shouldn't cost much.