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How big is your turtle? Small (Leviathan) one is approx 2 inches, Large (Nereus) one is approx 3 inches, but seems much bigger than the small one.
How long have you had it? Since Aug 2008. They were hatchlings when I got them.

What is the water temperature?about 75 degrees
Did you use a thermometer? Yes
Are you using a water heater? I did briefly, but not right now (need a replacement)
How much water is in there? about 19 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? No
Are you using any filtration? Yes

What is the basking temperature? about 85 degrees
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Zoomed Dock
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Foam
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Reptomin 4-6 pellets between the two of them. I make sure the small one eats pellets every time & have seen the small one eat the lettuce, carrots & sweet potato I feed them. The larger turtle eats everything just fine. I also make cuttlebone available all the time. They both seem to be good eaters.
When was the last time your turtle ate? This morning

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? approx 20 Gal
Is the tank near a window? No
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Not really (My bedroom)

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? Yes. My turtles came from the same clutch and they live together in the same tank--they always have. They get along well. They have the same light exposure, the same foods available to them, and I make sure the smaller one eats. Both turtles have gone through one session of shedding their skin. My larger turtle is thriving. His shell has a good shape to it, I do not see any pyramiding, but I am somewhat of a novice at keeping turtles. I am worried about the little guy, though. As you can see from the photos, my little one has a wonky shape to his shell (similar to the photos posted in the "what am I seeing?" posted by OTRA 10). The tail-end of the shell has curved upwards around the legs. I am also worried there could be some pyramiding. What does everyone think? Not sure if I posted the photos correctly, so if I did not, please see my photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kklemesrud/


Leviathan (Little guy)


Little guy


Nereus (big guy)


Side by side


Side by side again


Tank set up

Any suggestions are welcome!

The growth looks irregular, resulting in an uneven shell. Are you sure both are receiving an equal share of food?

4 to 6 pellets for the two turtles sounds pretty small to me. The rule of thumb for turtles under 4" length is a headfull of pellets every day. Are they getting that? Especially when they are young, good quality pellets should be the major part of the diet.

Here's something a little tricky about diet. Much of the good stuff we feed turtles with vitamin e to help them shed - like blueberries and steamed sweet potato - also has lots of phosporus. Phosporus binds up calcium which is not what you want when you are trying to raise a growing turtle. So, the advice is, as with all things, moderation in feeding sweet potatos. You want your turtle to have the vitamin e for his shell's health, but you don't want so much phosporus in the diet that his quota of calcium for shell and bone health is not met. A serving of sweet potato or other vitamin e containing food every week or couple of weeks should be enough for the shedding. That's what I give Spot and he seems to be shedding ok and his bones and shell seem healthy. He also always has cuttlebone in the tank, which is snacks on periodically.

Should it be more like 4 or 6 whole pellets apiece? They have such little heads to me its hard to tell what amount would fill them. I feed them the adult reptomin pellets, so I thought the lower number was okay because they have bigger pellets. Also, I was afraid of giving them too much and causing pyramiding. They get romaine lettuce everyday too. I will cut down on the sweet potato and carrots.

Should I separate them? I'd rather not if they do not have to be separated. But I don't wat to hurt them by not being separated, either.

Also, and I d/n/k if this is relevent, but their temperments, or personalities, are quite different. Both do not like to bask in front of me. But the larger one, Nere, will wait longer before jumping into the water. The larger one begs for food more, is more aggressive (towards people) and more brave. i.e. He keeps his head out when I pick him up, tries to nip me if he's unhappy. (I am still trying to get them to get used to being handled--is there a way to do that without making them too upset?) The smaller one, Levi, will always run and hide from me under the green planter I have in their tank (see flickr pic for tank set up), is much more shy, and keeps his head & legs tucked in when I pick him up. Are these just different personalities, or are their behaviors a function of one being bigger & therefore dominant, or something else?

Is there anything more I can do to prevent more irregular shell growth that you could suggest, or do you think it could be reversed? Thank you!

kklemesrud wrote:The smaller one, Levi, will always run and hide from me under the green planter I have in their tank (see flickr pic for tank set up)

I actually looked at the set up pic again and you can see what I mean about Levi hiding under the green pot while Nere is swimming around in the top, left part of the tank.