General Care Discussion

I'm really not quite sure what this is on my turtle's shell. It doesn't look like a fungus and her shell isn't soft so could it be a mineral deposit?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/53091554@N03/6223153482/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53091554@N03/6222635799/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/53091554@N03/6222636081/

By the way that's her turtle topper she was in while I was cleaning out her tank. Besides the spots, she seems to be active and behaving normally. I've been feeding her ZooMed Gourmet Aquatic Turtle food and I have a Reptisun 5.0 which is on in the picture. When she goes swimming and is completely wet, the spots seem to disappear almost completely.

It's remnants of the "baby" scutes. Most likely she grew fast and did not have opportunity to shed properly.

Does that mean I'm feeding her too much or does it sometimes happen? Thanks for answering by the way.

Most likely you fed her too much. Its the main reason that happens. Whats her diet like, just the aquatic turtle food? Also how long you had her, I know that zoomed is pretty new, so maybe you didnt have her that long?

I've had her for 2+ years now, in July it will be 3 years. When I got her she was about 1 1/2 inches and she also doesn't hibernate in winter. I started her out with zoomed hatchling formula and then moved on to the gourmet stuff when she looked like she was big enough. The gourmet stuff has pellets, shrimp, mealworms, and cranberries. I'm currently feeding 1tsp everyday. I've tried to get her to eat veggies but she won't touch them. She is currently around 6 inches maybe?

I can't say foresure, but that sounds like too much to me. Hatchlings should be fed pellets everyday, but once they reach one (I think) their protein should go to every other day. The amount fed should be what could fit inside their head (the head only, not the head and neck). Veggies should be offered everyday, even if she won't eat them. You might be surprised... on day they are her only choice, she may eat them. I've seen here a lot of people have had luck with the jello shots viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17486

Someone else probably knows better, but it seems like the zoomed gourmet stuff has too much protein in it for it to be the main diet even if it is every other day. Seems more like it should be a treat.

I have a hatchling. Right now she gets three of the baby pellets (the little ones) a day. She gets a leaf of either romaine, red leaf or green leaf lettuce everyday. About once a month I will give her carrots instead of the lettuce. I've not done it yet, but I'm going to give her some blueberries soon, because Diamondbacks says they help with shedding.

Honestly I'd say try to cut back on the protein. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me will chime in too.

I'll give it a go. I also have blueberries so I'll try that tomorrow morning and also read the feeding guide again on the main website. What confuses me is that she eats the food (providing that she sees is) within 1-2 minutes. Sometimes even less than 1 minute. Thanks for answering!

Yea, they will eat and eat fast if it is something they want. I think it is their nature. They will even beg, but that doesn't mean they NEED to be fed everytime they beg. It just means they WANT to be fed. It is kind of like my dog... if the food is there, she will eat it whether she needs it or not. She is a miniature schnauzer weighing less than 10 lbs, but if we gave her a 20 lb bag of dog food, she would eat until she got sick. I'm pretty sure most RES are the same way.

Good to keep in mind... I'll get more veggies today and start offering them every other day to see if she really is hungry or just begging for food.

to me that looks like the schutes are ready to shed... ive seen this on my turtle befor and upon closer inspection and a poke around i discovered it was loose schutes.. you should find that if you give it three weeks or so and cut their food a little, they should be fine.

General Care Discussion :: Hard water mineral deposit, shell rot, or fungus?

Who is online