General Care Discussion :: turtle shell condition?

[graceandmalu]

here are some pictures of my turtles shell. I'm a little worried about areas of the shell where it appears "chipped". I've had her for over a year now, she's been growing steadily and I've been offering her a rounded diet and the best tank set up I can offer (we're working on setting up a new, bigger tank set up soon). I use well water, not city water, so I don't normally put in water conditioners or anything into the water, but now I am wondering if I should be. I plan to have my water tested at PetCo soon so I know for sure.

anyway, on parts of her shell, like I said before it looks chipped. but it also has air pockets underneath, like she's beginning to shed. is it normal to have air pockets under the schutes before they shed? and is the chipping a result of bad water conditions?

thanks!

you can also click on the pictures I attached to see them up close for better inspection. thank you for your time.

[Linus]

Just looks like Retained scutes. Make sure she has some good UVB, maybe even take her outside.

[graceandmalu]

thank you for your reply. I take her out every once in a while, and I've been trying to make sure she is basking more. for a while she wasn't basking very often, so I would take her outside. I know my new set up will help, just a matter of getting the money to pay for all the upgrades.