General Care Discussion :: Older turtle

[chamzilla80]

Hello,

Hey there, all of you probably notice that I'm new to this forum. And I was wondering if anyone else had an older turtle like I do. My rescue girl is 13 years old, and I posted some pictures in our introduction about us. I was wondering why her head is so black compared to other turtles, or is that just the way she is. She's a lot healthier now than when I recieved her.

Just wondering if anyone else has pictures of there older turtles. Also the shell isn't flat or slightly rounded on top, its more of a rounded point, of if flipped on its back it cannot right itself. I also wondered if this was normal.

Hope to see pictures and hear from some sometime

Thanks

[jenaero]

She looks great considering her past neglect. The shell and skin darken over time. Totally normal. Shell looks fine too. Any deformity was probably related to her previous conditions. Have you taken her to the vet for a checkup?

[SpotsMama]

Does she lay eggs?

[BullDog]

I think just like people, turtles have a range of skin tones.
They range from "melanistic" like the one in this post:
http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... t=melan%2A
to albino, like this one:


My Ralph, who's 12, seems to have a slightly lighter shell and skin then a lot of the older res on this site...

[chamzilla80]

That is a beautiful turtle! I have an albino great dane, they are so beautiful creatures. ANYway,

So far the turtle I have has not layed eggs, when should I expect that to happen? I know it is a girl as the tail is only about 1 inch long. And that is what my advanced medical book for reptiles said about the tails.

I was just wondereing if anyone else had an old guy or girl. But it was great to see different colours of turtle for sure. I have saw a lot of different coloured ones, but just wondered about age and darkening. But that is cool that everyone said she looks good.

I will have to figure out a name for her one day. The people who had her before said it was a HE and I said are you sure. They wern't very good with her obviously. I will get a picture of the bum and post it so you can see the tail also.

Thanks a bunch

[ahguiturtle]

I have my male RES for abt 14 years.
His shell and skin turn dark over the years.

Even his "red streaks" become pale red and even has black spots on his "red streaks". He is still very active and eats well.

I saw the pic that you have posted and was surprised that your RES still has her bright red streaks despite her age.

[missibsu]

At 13 years of age she could be ready to lay eggs at any time. In the wild this typically happens over a period of 3-4 months in the spring and summer. However, because you turtle is living indoors and has a stable environment, those months don't always hold true, although I believe for the most part they do. Someone can correct me on that if I am wrong.

[SpotsMama]

There was a good thread on turtles laying eggs recently. You might take a look at http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4820

I wondered about it because a female will lay eggs even if she is celebate (no male present) and she needs to be able to make her nest in a dry spot. I was curious as to how your girl managed when she didn't have a dry spot for nesting. I guess she either figured out a way or else she wasn't laying before. Now that her habitat's improved maybe she'll start laying.