General Care Discussion :: is this shell rot?

[bin4christ]

guys is my turtle's shell beginning to rot? n is it beginning to pyramid?

[crackerlady2007]

She looks perfectly healthy to me, but the pictures are a little blurry. Point out your concern so we can take a closer look.

[bin4christ]

it's the areas around the front n the back of the shell. where the head n the tail pops out.

[raverqueenage]

it looks to me that she just needs to shed the scutes in those areas. Over all she looks good.

[SpotsMama]

Looks like she really, really needs to shed those scutes. They are piled up several layers deep all over. A turtle should shed the very thin, translucent top layer of his/her shell periodically.

How is she about basking? Does she have a good place to bask where she can dry out completely, top and bottom? Does she bask just about every day and for extended periods? What about the lighting - what brand of bulbs do you use and what strength? This is very important. How fresh is the UVB bulb?

On diet, you can add foods containing vitamin e to her diet. Vitamin e should help her shed. Here's a list:

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

[marisa]

A few areas looked dark in the first pic, but don't really show show up in closer shots. I don't see shell rot or pyramiding in the pics.

Those sharp, serated marginal scutes that rim the shell are like that because your turtle hasn't shed in a while, if at all. The rest if the shell has scute build-up as well.

The shell coloring would likely improve with a good shedding. What's the set-up like for your RES? If you can, getting your turtle outside for some natural sunlight regularly would do a lot to help those scutes come off.