General Care Discussion :: GOMIE'S SHELL...

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 8:28 pm   GOMIE'S SHELL...

"BUT I DON'T WANT MY PICTURE TAKEN!!!!!
Those long, curved nails are getting sharp....ouch!

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Anyhow, since Gomez snapped out of her funk, I've noticed she's started growing.....fast. Maybe faster than Beaker. A little too fast, and I think her shell is showing the effects.
The central scutes seem normal, but the costal scutes look like they are being retained. But what really bothers me about them is they seem to be concave in the center (growing in instead of out?). I'm wondering, could this be caused from rapid growth or overfeeding? (I must confess, I have been going overboard with her, since she ate hardly anything for three whole months).

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Her marginal scutes also look a bit weird. Maybe being retained also? The supracaudal scutes were always serrated, in fact they used to curve upwards but now it's much less profound:

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But here's where it really gets odd. The plastral scutes are well defined, but larger scutes seem to be growing in behind them. Again rapid growth with retention? Thats a pretty wide gap there......

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She's been chowing down on everything offered. Pellets, veggies, cuttlebone, I even caught her chasing after one of the fish. She's been very active and basking regularly. Any ideas on what's going on here?
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grey goose
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Post Posted: Fri Jun 29, 2007 11:41 pm   

She is so cute! She looks like she is growing quickly. The plastron looks like she's had a growth spurt, and it's stretching to keep up. She might be growing a bit fast, but I can understand the want to help her catch the others after her SAD improved. I don't see what I would call retained scutes. She does look like she is shedding scutes, which is also probably from her growth spurt, but I don't see retention. I have these great reptile vet books, and they have lots of pictures, and Gomie doesn't look to me like she's keeping her scutes too long.
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scripta_elegans
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:21 am   

I love Gomie's shell! It looks like a beautiful piece of wood work. :D
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DavidY
 
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:47 am   

I know, ain't it great? I want to rub it out and put a coat of wax on it! :) It looks like the dashboard on a real expensive car. (Oh God, I can't believe I just had that thought....."interior by Gomie"). :P
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grey goose
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 12:48 am   

LOL!! :D
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DavidY
 
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 2:45 am   

I do see some rapid growth at the seams of the carapace and on the plastron. That seems to be the likely explanation of the concave appearance. Once the marginals shed, it won't be as jagged (you can see the outline underneath). Do any of the coastals (pleurals) overlap? It might be too early to call any retained, though there do look like there are a few layers that will shed together.
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steve
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Post Posted: Sat Jun 30, 2007 1:57 pm   

The costals seem to overlap at the rear. I'm just hoping I'll come home one day and find a pile of scutes at the bottom of the tank, and Gomie with a shiny new shell! :)
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grey goose
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