General Care Discussion :: Question About RES Shell

[rob23a]

Hi everyone...newbie to the boards.

My son came home with a half dollar size RES about 2 years ago. Since then he's gotten steadily bigger (and bigger and bigger) and seems to be doing fine. He's quite the member of the family now, even though I was a bit annoyed to see this creature come in to our home.

Anyway, my question is, His shell curves up in the back and a bit over his hind legs. I'd say it's almost a 45 degree angle. Is this ok? I noticed in all the pictures I was looking at that this doesn't appear to be the case for most. Is something wrong?


Thanks!

[Daniel3507]

do you have a picture of the shell? it would be alot easier to help if we had a picture. what is the set up like?

[rob23a]

I will try to get a picture. I'm just reading some of the posts and seeing all the things I'm doing wrong. I see not to use gravel...I've got gravel and plenty of it.

Otherwise, he's about 5 inches long, maybe 4 inches wide. He's in a 30 gallon tank with a large turtle dock. Not much else is in the tank except a heater and filter. We'll probably be getting a 50+ tank after xmas.

[Daniel3507]

you are sure to learn alot from this site. i know i did when i first found it.
do you have a UVB light? its one of the easiest things you can do to help a turtles shell.

[rob23a]

Yes, I have a UVB over it's turtle dock. I also have a compact florescent bulb in a clip on fixture.

[Daniel3507]

the compact florescent bulb might not be creating enough heat for the basking area.

[rob23a]

I thought the UVB bulb was throwing enough heat....He seems to enjoy it....he's always on the dock sunbathing.....the packaging says encourages basking and provides UVB.

[Daniel3507]

compact fluorescent bulbs dont really produce alot of heat. most people use just regular incandescent bulbs for heat. its good that he is still basking though. after you are able to get a picture we will be able to help out more.

[rob23a]

Ok, maybe I'm confused on my UVA, UVB's.

I thought the one I have over his dock was UVB....it's for basking and I thought it was for UVB as well. Then the lady at Pet Co suggested I add a CFL to a clip light for some added UVA rays.

I will try to get a picture in the next day or so.

[Daniel3507]

yes, the UVB bulbs are for basking so its good you have that. UVA is basically heat, CFL bulbs though usually do not put out enough heat which is why people usually just use a UVB bulb and a regular incandescent. I hope that helped.

[marisa]

Regular UVB bulbs (either compact flourescents or tubes) will not provide enough heat to bask (unless it's summer and the room he's in is really warm). UVB bulbs will also provide UVA rays, though. A UVB light and a heat source (can be a regular incandescent lightbulb) are both needed over the basking area. A temp in the range of 88-90F would be good.

With respect to the curving shell, a lack of proper lighting will contribute to it, but it also sounds like he's been (over)fed a high protein diet. His shell length is 5 inches down the spine, not including the curve of the shell?

What is he being fed, how much is he given at a feeding, and how often is he fed? At his age, he can be fed pellets (a head-sized amount) every other day, with other foods for balance and variety. Plant matter is of growing importance in his diet as he ages.

A picture would be helpful to see how far the curving has progressed. In hatchlings, such curving can be the result of a growth spurt and will resolve itself with minor adjustments to the diet. At two years of age, if the curving is significant, it probably won't reverse itself that much. But, it is important to correct the diet (if it needs to be) for the health of your RES and to prevent the curving from progressing even more.

[SpotsMama]

For a healthy shell, a turtle has to have a lot of calcium in the diet and frequent exposure to good quality UVB light. If the UVB bulb is too weak or too old (the fluorescents must be changed out every six months, the MVBs annually) then the turtle can't properly metabolize the calcium he/she eats and the result is shell and bone deformaties. An excellent source of dietary calcium is cuttlebone - the same as people get for their parakeets. You can get cuttlebone in the bird section of any pet store.