General Care Discussion :: What shape should the shell be?

[bradmeisel]

Now that the turtles are larger I noticed the shell is alot rounder as opposed to longer and flatter. WHen I was at a place that takes injured animals I saw a res that was missing both of her back feet (just stumps).

The caretaker mentioned that her shell was long and flatter because she was malnurished during her life (she was about 8-9 inches).

Because I was afraid of overfeeding, I felt my shells looked similar but smaller. At that point I increased the amount of food I feed them and the shell got rounder.

My question is what shape should the shell be and what should I look for to tell if the shells are healthy? Also should I use this turtle shell conditioner or is that really for turtles that do nto go into the water?

Thanks for any suggestions

[untsmurf]

Well they're if you're turtle is healthy and on a proper diet, his/her shell will be smooth and flat. Any bumps in the shell are usually the result of a diet high in protein; that's a common mistake among turtle keepers. As per the actual shape, I'm not 100% sure, but all the healthy turtles I've seen are longer than they are round. Kind of like an oval, maybe. But different turtles can grow different ways.

The shell conditioner doesn't need to be added unless your turtle has an injury to its shell. If you use it a lot when there isn't an injury, then it won't be affective when there is one and you need it.

If you take pictures of your little guys we can tell you how they look.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Each turtle's shell will be different, but I agree with Christi that they are more oval shaped as opposed to circular. The shell should gently curve up into the middle to form a slight upside down bowl shape. It shouldn't be rough or pyramiding. There should be no pointy places on the shell.

Pictures would be exceptionally helpful, taken at as many angles as you can get. Don't worry, we don't mind scrolling through a dozen photos and scrutinizing them all.

Turtle shell conditioner, if I remember what it is, is essentially wax. Don't use it unless there has been an injury, and even then, only if a vet says it's needed. Basically you would be sealing off the shell, so no UVB or water or nutrients or anything could permeate it.

[marisa]

When you say the shell is round, does the turtle appear to be growing upward (the bridge/sides that connect the carapace and plastron is growing)?

Can you post some pics of both turtles and their shells?

If the shell conditioner is what I'm thinking of, don't use it, whether or not the shell is injured. It will coat the shell and prevent the shell from "breathing,", which it needs to do.

[bradmeisel]

Here are a bunch of pix. Sorry that I couldn't really get a great one. Thanks for the feedback. Click on any pic to make it big.

[untsmurf]

The overall shape looks fine. I do see a hint of pyramiding, of course it's hard to tell since they are in the water. They are right around the age where they could be retaining their baby scutes, which often looks like pyramiding. If you could take them out of the water and get dry pictures, that would help.

What's they're diet like?

[bradmeisel]

i feed them about 20-25 pellets a day -- regular mostly and red reptotreats as treats. Sometimes they get carrots but they wouldn't eat red leaf lettuce.

[untsmurf]

That is waaaaay to many pellets. They should be getting a head sized portion per day as hatchlings, and once they reach four inches, which your turtles have, they should be fed a head sized portion every other day. And all treats high in protein should be fed no less than a monthly basis. You should be offering veggies everyday. And if they don't eat it, you need to do some tough love.


Check out the nutrition section on the main site for some ideas on other veggies you can offer.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I agree, way too many pellets if that is per turtle, together, that's only a few too many. At 3.5 and 4 inches, they are nearly not hatchlings anymore. I feed my 5 inch turtle like 12 pellets (6 Reptomin, 6 HBH) and I'm still trying to figure out if that should be daily or every other day. "Head-size" is difficult to figure out.

I also think there may be a hint of pyramiding, but it's a good time to catch it. I would cut down on the pellets immediately, and treats no more often than a "head-sized" amount each month, so like 2 rosie red minnows or a shrimp or a few crickets.

Try out different lettuces. I started trying to feed my turtle romaine hearts and she would not touch them at all. I kept trying and trying with no luck. Then me and the hubby branched out our salad tastes and bought some green leaf lettuce. It was a hit! She only likes green and red leaf lettuce, the dark parts of romaine, and boston lettuce at this point. But hey, those are what I eat, so I'm not worried about variety!

[SpotsMama]

A box turtle tends to have a lot higher dome than a RES, which have a lower profile. It looks to me like female RES's are somewhat more rounded and males are somewhat flater. Look in the photo gallery and you'll see lots of photos of healthy RES and you'll see that some are a little more dome shaped and some are a little flater.

Turtles with metabolic bone disease (severe calcium/vitamin D deficiency) get a completely flat or sort of caved in look. Definitely unhealthy looking.

[bradmeisel]

; ; ; Do you think the shell looks ok? Here are some slghtly better pics. I have cut their food down.

[SpotsMama]

There's some pyramiding but otherwise ok. It's good that you've corrected their diet. Too much protein is what causes the lumpiness that you see. If you follow the guidelines on here for diet, they'll be fine.

[bradmeisel]

Thanks for the feedback.

[untsmurf]

How big is your tank?

[bradmeisel]

It's only a 20 gal. I'm in the process of trying to get a 55 gal. I have a 55 gal filter, a 20 gal filter, and a 10 gallon filter in the little tank but I know it is still way too small