General Care Discussion :: Question bout my RES shell

[trishanye87]

have a red eared slider that is about 5 years old. Her shell has some shinny spots that you dont really see when she is out of the water but as soon as she slides into it they are very noticable. they look like air pockets under the first layer of her shell. Her scutes havent been comming off in full pieces either they are very thin and its more like little pieces are flaking off. She also has had what looks like a crack in her shell for a few years but it hasnt seemed to bother her and it hasnt gotten any bigger. She is still very very active and eats normal. If any one has any info or comments please let me know her is a link to an album showing pictures of her. Thanks again. Trisha

http://s1019.photobucket.com/albums/af3 ... e87/Koopa/

[jay2487]

What size is that tank? It looks like the turtle is touching front and back of the tank at the same time.

Do you have UVB lighting? Substitute calcium? What do you feed and how much? Is the basking area completely dry? even where the bottom of the shell lays most of the time when basking?

Everything your saying says shedding scutes to me, except the big crack worries me.

[trishanye87]

The tank is 55 gal she doesnt tough both sides it the angle ofthe picture. her basking area is completely dry. As of now i do not have UVB lighting im planning on getting it next time i get paid. I changed her food about 4 months ago to Zoo Med Aquatic Turtle food maintenance formula and she gets between 5-10 a day. i do not have a calcium substitute and dont know antything about them.

[jay2487]

You should be able to find some calcium powder at the pet store, that and UVB lighting should help the shell's healthiness a lot. Without the UVB they cant process the calcium.

Have you had the turtle for 5 years? Or did you get it after it had gotten that old? I know you don't want to hear this, but that tank is too small. The rule is 1 inch of turtle per ten gallons of water, and that is a minimum. Your tank would be barely big enough if you could fill it to the top but you cant or your turtle will escape so you can guess you got about 40 to 45 gallons in it. Just keep that in mind.