General Care Discussion :: seam question

[theartbook35]

Okay, my turtles were definitely not given the right nutrition by the people selling them long before we got them. They had wide seams when we first brought them home, which they still have. They haven't changed color, or eroded, or gotten any wider. My turtles' overall growth since we first got them has been totally normal. However, as they get older, are their seams going to thin out with shedding, or do I need to add something specific to their diet to fix this, if it even can be fixed?

I just don't like that it makes my turtles look very unhealthy when they really aren't.

They are just now starting to reach two inches of shell, one being a little bigger than the other. They are both about the same age, one year, and in my opinion are a little bit tiny for their age. I did give them a lot of protein when we first got them, because they were very lightly colored and very thin. This didn't cause pyramiding, their growth has always been slow and steady, all it did was give them muscle mass.

(That guy probably tried to speed up their growth so they would be able to be sold quickly... moron...)

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Being a small turtle and caught really early the chances are good once there larger you wont see it anymore or you may always notice it but barely.

[TheComputerGremlin]

It will likely decrease over time and with some shedding. Photos are worth a thousand words, though, so before you judge that your turtles' shells "look very unhealthy", I'd recommend posting a few good photos and we can help assess. I apologize if you have already done this in another thread, but it will be best if you can repost them if you have.

As for size, at 1 year, a RES with normal conditions should be about 4" in shell length, making your two very small for a year old. Also, most sellers don't want to speed up the growth of turtles, as people want to buy the cute little things. A lot of sellers actually keep turtles in refrigerators between fairs or expos to keep them extra small, it's downright disgusting. You may just end up with smaller turtles for life due to conditions beyond your control, which is perfectly okay.

Also, you list them as male and female, but are you certain of this? Unless the male has long nails and/or has been seen fanning, you can't be for certain on gender until they get around 4", at which time it becomes very obvious because parts have grown properly. Until my turtle was 4", I was confident she was a male because of webpages I read, but when I posted a gender-check on here, I got overwhelming votes on female.

[theartbook35]

It will likely decrease over time and with some shedding. Photos are worth a thousand words, though, so before you judge that your turtles' shells "look very unhealthy", I'd recommend posting a few good photos and we can help assess. I apologize if you have already done this in another thread, but it will be best if you can repost them if you have.

As for size, at 1 year, a RES with normal conditions should be about 4" in shell length, making your two very small for a year old. Also, most sellers don't want to speed up the growth of turtles, as people want to buy the cute little things. A lot of sellers actually keep turtles in refrigerators between fairs or expos to keep them extra small, it's downright disgusting. You may just end up with smaller turtles for life due to conditions beyond your control, which is perfectly okay.

Also, you list them as male and female, but are you certain of this? Unless the male has long nails and/or has been seen fanning, you can't be for certain on gender until they get around 4", at which time it becomes very obvious because parts have grown properly. Until my turtle was 4", I was confident she was a male because of webpages I read, but when I posted a gender-check on here, I got overwhelming votes on female.

I have a feeling it will go away, too, with shedding.

I've always heard that turtles should be between two and four inches by their first year, and that some turtles are just genetically smaller. That's just what I usually hear on here.

I need to remember to take pictures of them. Not just for my sanity but so everyone can see them. They are very expressive and charismatic little ones. I forgot to change my signature too, lol. Hurricane acts like a male, through and through, but while giving them their usual examination, I noticed something very specific: Both their cloacas are quite close to their shells. Those parts are just born in one place, and they don't just magically move after birth. I'm 99.9% sure that HE is a SHE. Hurricane is acting like a female more now, and I think there might be an age difference between them of a few months. Hurricane still acts kind of immature, and Typhoon is becoming more level headed. (Them both being girls kinda is annoying, though, now I'll have TWO gravid girls instead of one.)

Anyways, as far as the tank is concerned, I removed their gravel last week. Typhoon's shell got mildly dinged when she was digging, and that made me take it out. It no longer serves its purpose. I'll keep it for future fish aquariums, or if my dad can get his sharks back. I raised their water level to enough where they can still poke their heads out of the water but have to swim. Ugh. Typhoon is such a pain. I put her in their carrier that I use when tank cleaning, with a couple of rocks, and she immediately dived to the bottom and tried to hide rather than tread water. If she has a choice between being confident or hiding, she'll always pick hiding. She even tucked her tail in. She refused to come out from behind the rock. I thought if I stepped away she'd start moving around more, cause she's sneaky like that, but that actually made her more nervous. So, I picked her up, and started bobbing her up and down at the surface to force her into moving around and shaking her legs. She was surprisingly relaxed when I did this, and the second I let go of her, she went and hid again. I just sighed and got Hurricane to see what she would do. Hurricane is all swimming around like she usually does, "hey this is neat! whoopie!" and Typhoon is just sitting there, at the bottom, hiding. I had wanted to start them on the every other day feedings, and hadn't fed them earlier today so I put in pellets and that got Typhoon's interest. I had to keep bobbing her around to get her to eventually loosen up and start treading water. It basically took her about a half an hour to realize nothing wanted to eat her. She always hides that way when anything spooks her. Having all those plants helps, and they are so used to regular tank changes, pretty much every week, that having the water level raised in the tank didn't get to her. Having it raised in the carrier was very stressful. She feels a lot better in the tank, but right now she's hiding and running around like an animal being chased by an invisible predator. I have a board blocking view of the tank so my cat won't stare at them. I got them plants a few weeks ago, so, their floating vine seems to help a lot. Typhoon is a drama queen so she's gonna be like this for a while.

[marisa]

A pic of the seam would be good. If they have not really changed for a while, once they start growing, you're likely to find that a portion of that wide seam will, in fact, become part of the scute.

[TheComputerGremlin]

So, don't worry too much about gravid females. Some turtles only lay one or two clutches their whole lives, others sometimes never lay. And if you have two females, you'll have less chances of aggression, and you'll have fewer clutches without a male present, so that's a plus too.

Since Typhoon seems to like hiding, have you thought about providing some hiding places? You can try adding in a small cluster of plants, or some people buy a huge PVC pipe that's like 4+" in diameter and put that in the bottom, just a short segment, enough for the turtle to hang out in. Sometimes a few hiding places will start to bring out confidence in them since they know that it's there. You could also try a large ceramic plant pot. They do have this floating log that you can buy, but my thoughts on it are that it's kind of expensive, and once your turtles outgrow it, they can wedge themselves in and can become trapped. I think it fits up to around 4" turtles, maybe a little bigger?

[theartbook35]

So, don't worry too much about gravid females. Some turtles only lay one or two clutches their whole lives, others sometimes never lay. And if you have two females, you'll have less chances of aggression, and you'll have fewer clutches without a male present, so that's a plus too.

Since Typhoon seems to like hiding, have you thought about providing some hiding places? You can try adding in a small cluster of plants, or some people buy a huge PVC pipe that's like 4+" in diameter and put that in the bottom, just a short segment, enough for the turtle to hang out in. Sometimes a few hiding places will start to bring out confidence in them since they know that it's there. You could also try a large ceramic plant pot. They do have this floating log that you can buy, but my thoughts on it are that it's kind of expensive, and once your turtles outgrow it, they can wedge themselves in and can become trapped. I think it fits up to around 4" turtles, maybe a little bigger?

Yeah, I've seen that floating log, I find it expensive, even on that discount site I frequent. I have a turtle hut for them, that they love dearly, but they need the filter and basking log more than the turtle hut right now. They kind of stopped even going in it, and I don't like using the huts in deep water. I'll put it back in when I get the 40 gallon. The basking log is made to fit the width of a 10 gallon, so, I have it raised up and wedged so it won't sink, that way the water level can be higher. Typhoon seems to enjoy hiding under it. (There's a good inch and a half space between the bottom of the log and the tank floor). I have three plants.

They are very mad at me right now. I know their mad when they ignore me. I have to have their resting rock positioned a certain way so they can both use it at the same time. That big rock has ALWAYS been Hurricane's, and now Typhoon wants it too (Ty is the dominant one too) so they are working out who gets to stand where... I'm watching them closely, but showing dominance is normal, and I really don't expect them to take it to far. I know them well, and Ty could beat Hurricane up and down that tank if she wanted to, but never does. This is the same turtle that uses Hurricane's shell as a pillow.

It's my rock! No, it's my rock! *nip* Ha, I win! *whines* Typhoon, where are you going? *follows eagerly* I misseded you so much!!! I'm right here Hurricane, chill...[/i]