General Care Discussion :: Goblin's shell

[DebbieJean]

The edges of Goblin's shell in back curve upwards. Why does his shell do this and can I fix it. He has a basking dock with lights plus a heater and filter. I'll try and get a picture soon of his shell.
I'm not sure if you can see it here in this picture very good, its hard to get a very good picture.

[marisa]

A picture would be good---it's a little hard to comment without knowing how much the rear marginal scutes are curving upward and if they're the only ones that are. However, when the shell does this (in severe cases all the marginal scutes do this and the shell takes on a "sombrero" look) there's been an imbalance in the diet---too little calcium, not enough Vit D3, etc. and/or too much food. Hatchings will sometimes have growth spurts and the marginal scutes will do this; adjusting the diet will often correct the problem. In larger turtles, if it's really severe, the condition is pretty much permanent, although adjusting the diet is still good and will result in a healthier turtle.

What is Goblin fed, how often and how much at a feeding?
What kind of UVB light is being used? How old is it?
Has Goblin been growing very quickly?

[DebbieJean]

Goblin is fed once every day in the morning. I give him 8 small pellets with his red lettuce and occaionally some other veggie or fruit to go with it. His UVB light was given to me by my cousin I'm not sure what kind it is except he had used it for his reptiles. Not sure how old it is. Goblin is growing normally I think, not fast but definitly getting bigger. I should measure him again tomorrow I think hes bigger than 2 1/4 inches now.

[Caphits]

Get a new UVB bulb ASAP. Go for the Reptisun, or reptiglo 5.0.

Make sure he gets cuttlebone too.

[marisa]

It would be good to clean that algae (green) off his shell. The serated-looking rear marginal scutes look like he hasn't shed in a while.

What kind of basking area does he have? Does he bask a fair amount? If you don't know how old the UVB light is, get a new one. When the weather gets warmer, it would be good to get him outside for some unfiltered sunlight.