General Care Discussion :: I'm just learning, have a few questions

[Diz]

Hi, I just recently found this forum and I think it's a really great place for turtle people to come and talk about their turtles. I have a RES named Charlie that is about a year and a half old, about 4.5", and we have had him since he was a little tiny guy. I haven't really known the proper care for him until I recently started researching. I feel bad that I haven't researched earlier, because he may develop health issues. He already has some pyramiding due to us overfeeding him and giving him too much protein (lots of krill). I now have started him on a good diet and have cut the krill completely out. He also hasn't had any UVB light most of his life, we have only had a heating light. We recently decided to upgrade his tank from a 10 gallon to a 60 gallon (which he loves). He now has a 7% UVB light in addition to his basking lamp. The water temp is around 78-80 and the basking temp is around 90. I am now feeding him as many pellets that will fit in his head every other day, and have started feeding him vegetables every day (he loves carrots). I have added a couple of pictures below (sorry they aren't very good, they're taken by my phone). My questions are about the pyramiding. Will he be able to outgrow it since I am now correcting his diet? Even if he does outgrow it, will there be any continuing health risks? I would hate to think that the year and a half of neglect would shorten his lifespan or cause him unneeded pain. Is there anything else I can do to help offset the pyramiding? Also if you have any other suggestions about anything they would be greatly appreciated.




Thanks in advance.
-Daniel

[jenaero]

He looks to have more of a shell curling problem rather than pyramiding. Don't feel too bad. Lots of us overfed ours in the beginning. Mine both had pyramiding because my husband was feeding them and not telling me. I've since restricted pellets to 3 times a week with veggies in between. They both are evening out quite well now but it took a while. Sounds like you're on the right track now so just keep it up and he'll be fine.

You could lower the water temp a bit. 72-75F is fine for a turt his age. You might want to add a bit of decor to the tank as well to make it more interesting (plants, feeder fish, rocks, etc)