General Care Discussion :: Active 3 inch baby turtle with shell abnormality

[khg002]

This is my first post so if I'm breaking any etiquette please forgive me. Okay Ive had my turtle Valentine for about 5 months and she is about 3 inches if measuring her shell. I currently have her in a 30 gallon tank with heat and UVB lamps. She has a basking spot which she uses daily. I have a thermometer and a heater which keeps the temp from 72-78 in the water. I was treating the water with dechlorinator but now I only use Nitraban. I am currently using two filters on is a 40 gallon Tetra filter and the other is a Zoo Med submersible 30 gallon rip-off from PetCo. Valentine is very active and she swims and basks with regularity. The only problem is her shell. I wanted your thoughts on the prognosis of her condition. I feed her around 8 pellets in the morning when i get up as well as a small leaf of turnip green when i come home for lunch. I also sometimes coat the pellets in a calcium powder I have. I have included pictures so that you can provide any ideas you may have on an appropriate treatment.

[steve]

It's called pyramiding, and is brought on an improper/irregular diet, poor habitat and/or metabolic bone disease.

Most likely there won't be a full recovery, but since your turtle is still young, the shell will smooth out after several sheds. You do need to isolate the cause -- was Valentine like this 5 months ago?

[khg002]

No she was not like this when I first got her (illegally) from a pet store in a mall. Im sorry to say that its my own fault her shell is like this. I remember feeding her a lot of pellets, shrimp, and crickets from turtle food kits that I bought. It took me a long time to find how much she should be fed. Now I feed her about 4 pellets in the morning along with a small leaf of turnip green in the evening when I get home. In previous months she has also eaten several fish that I had in there with her as well as a snail and a few ghost shrimp. Currently there a five tetras that shes doesnt bother as well as about three ghost shrimp that she tries to eat but cant quite catch. Oh and a pleco who is too ugly for her to eat.

This is valentine when I first got her:

[marisa]

A fairly bad case of pyramiding and probably some metabolic bone disease going on there. The diet, from what you've described, has been way to high in protein, which you say you've cut back on (good). It would be good to get more calcium in her---turnip greens are ok, but dandelion greens are much better (see if any supermarkets sell them).

What brand of pellets are you offering?

What brand of UVB light are you using in her tank?

[khg002]

I am using a Zoo Med Reptisun 5.0. 26W AC120V 60Hz.The pellets Im feeding her are Reptomin mini sticks. Ive included pictures of her basking area. The lights are off so that I can get a decent picture.

[marisa]

I'd adjust the lighting---the UVB light would be a lot more beneficial to your turtle if your turtle could bask under it (and it would be much better for your eyes as well). Is it on a clamp lamp or a desk lamp?