General Care Discussion :: Looks Like the Edges of my RES' Shell is Turning Yellow...?

[together28]

Hi, I was adopted by a tiny RES that ended up in my little pond about 2 months ago. He is 2" long and I've been caring for him. Two weeks ago I cleaned the pond and changed about 2/3 of the water with tap water. I added chlorine remover and my little RES seems to be okay.

This week it seems to me like the edges of his shell (the bumpy "ribbon" on the top edge of his shell) are turning a little more yellow. I'm not sure if this is normal or if something is wrong with him. The guy at the pet store has turtles and he said my RES might be shedding but all that I am noticing is the yellow coloring.

Also, he is less sociable with me than he was before I cleaned the pond and spends a lot of time under the water cascade of the fountain. I thought maybe he was just feeling vulnerable because I cleaned up the black matter on the bottom of the pond. He sometimes comes up and pokes his head out of the water when I talk to him (he used to do it ALL the time) but then he gets scared and darts off.

He's been darting off so fast that he runs into the fountain or runs into the wall of the pond. I'm letting the dirt, leaves, etc. collect on the bottom of the pond again, and will not clean it so well ever again like I did the first time. I just don't know if he's acting this way because he feels vulnerable to predators or if something is wrong. Maybe this coupled with the yellowish color means something more.....?

Thanks,
Debra
____________________________
Bubba - 2" RES, age unknown
Sassy - 15 year old American Eskimo
Belle - 14 year old cancer surviving Maltese
Chloe - 9 year old Diabetic Rottweiler

[Sniffa]

The yellowish color seems to be normal, all four of my turtles have it on the edges.

And for swimming away from you part, One of my turtles does the same thing. So as far as i know that's just normal activity.

[TheComputerGremlin]

He may just be a bit scared, as you said, because you changed his habitat. Frequently when turtles get scared, they'll dart off and run into things. Mine swims head-first into the glass tank, even though she's not going anywhere. He should calm down as he gets older, but turtles will remain a bit skittish throughout life, I think.

As for the coloration, as turtles age, their shells become less green and more brown. You may be noticing this transition, but to be on the safe side, try to get a few good photos for us. A picture on this board really is worth a thousand words! Shedding usually makes the scutes appear metallic, almost gold and shimmery, it's air and water getting trapped under the scutes.

[theartbook35]

He may just be a bit scared, as you said, because you changed his habitat. Frequently when turtles get scared, they'll dart off and run into things. Mine swims head-first into the glass tank, even though she's not going anywhere. He should calm down as he gets older, but turtles will remain a bit skittish throughout life, I think.

As for the coloration, as turtles age, their shells become less green and more brown. You may be noticing this transition, but to be on the safe side, try to get a few good photos for us. A picture on this board really is worth a thousand words! Shedding usually makes the scutes appear metallic, almost gold and shimmery, it's air and water getting trapped under the scutes.

Don't the seams get metallic, too?

Yes, I'd love to see some pictures.

[TheComputerGremlin]

Hmm, I don't know about the seams. Umi just started to get the metallic color to the middle of a few of her scutes (after 2 years, sheesh!), but I haven't noticed the edges changing yet. Might still be a few weeks til I see some shedding, I suppose.

[together28]

Thank you for your replies. I will take some new pictures tomorrow to upload for comparison to a couple of weeks ago.

I've had Bubba for two months but I have no idea how old he is since he just showed up in my pond. His shell is only 2" long so I'm guessing he's fairly young - don't know how old they are when they first start shedding.

I'll post pics tomorrow.

Debra

[together28]

I have pictures of Bubba to post now. After looking at pictures from a month ago compared to pictures from this week, he may be looking more light green than yellowish. I will let y'all look at the photos and give me your thoughts since I am inexperienced at owning and caring for RES. Does his shell, coloring, etc. look normal?

Isn't he cute???

Thanks,
Debra

BUBBA ON 5-11-09



BUBBA ON 5-28-09



BUBBA ON 5-28-09



BUBBA ON 6-29-09

[theartbook35]

Wow, my turtle is turning that EXACT same yellow-green color.

Maybe it is shedding, after all.

[TheComputerGremlin]

I'm going to say that your turtle looks fine! Happy, healthy, no weird discolorations, no obvious pyramiding. Excellent!

My turtle has a little yellow, not quite as drastic as yours, but it looks quite natural. Might just be a lesser pattern that sliders get.

[tammi]

Mine also has the same look. So I'd say its normal.

[steve]

Those last few pics (dark areas of the seams) indicate VERY FAST growth, probably due to overfeeding. You should reevaluate your feeding schedule.

[marisa]

The increasingly translucent yellow edges are because your turtle is growing (the seam/line in between the scutes is also rather wide). What, how much and how often is he fed?

Just looking at the pics, from the fourth one on, it looks like older scutes are embedded in the newer ones---they should have shed long ago.

If this turtle just turned up in your pond, I'm guessing he was someone's pet---the carapace wouldn't look like that on a wild RES.

[together28]

In the beginning(2 months ago) I was feeding Bubba 6-8 mini krill/baby shrimp 2x/day because he wouldn't eat the Reptomin pellets. I read that it was too much protein so I started giving him 5-7 Reptomin pellets AND 3-4 mini krill/baby shrimp 2x/day and the forum told me that was still too much so about 4-5 weeks ago I cut it down to 4-5 Reptomin pellets in the morning and 4-5 in the evening, and I usually give him 1 or 2 pieces of mini-krill OR baby shrimp each day, no more than 2 pcs.

I was concerned about giving him too much protein so I was going to buy these Nature Zone small bites for aquatic turtles this weekend because they are low in protein. I have also bought the ingredients to make the veggie jello shots and am planning to try that tomorrow. So far I have had no luck with getting him to eat pieces of kale or romaine, although he may be eating some of the anacharis. I can't be certain but some of the stalks are bare. I just ordered some more for his pond.

After you mentioned the width of the seams, I went back and looked at those first three pics from a month ago and they were much smaller. If he is growing that fast, I should remeasure him to check his length. I don't know how to tell if the older scutes are embedded in the new scutes. If this is the case, is there a way to remedy this, or help him shed the old ones or is it too late until the new ones shed?

He did just turn up in my pond one day about 2 months ago. Our house backs up to a levee and there is a canal on the other side so I just assumed he came from there and he was so little (2" long), I thought he may have gotten separated from his mother or something. It's very possible that someone put him there. How would his carapace look differently if he were a wild RES?

Where should I go from here? I am a huge animal lover and know our three dogs inside and out, physically and emotionally, and am very proactive about their care, but I have NO experience at all in my life with a reptile. I have fallen in love with this little turtle and he makes me smile all the time when I see him or show pictures of him. I want to take the best care of Bubba that I can and help him get on the right track as he grows.

Regarding his shell color, I'm glad there are other people who have turtles around the same size with the same coloring. That makes me feel better that I am doing something right for him.

Thank you all SO much for your feedback and observances.

Debra

[Caphits]

Yes, that is much too much food. (and also way too high in protein.)

Turtles dont hang around with their moms. They are completely on their own after they are born.


To get your turtle to shed, try to feed cuttlebone, and foods high in vitamin e.

[together28]

Caphits - I love your photo! I did buy cuttlebone last weekend, took the backing off and put a piece about the size of a quarter in the water. So far, it doesn't look like he has shown any interest at all.

When I make the veggie jello shots today, I will be adding calcium powder so hopefully he will eat them. I bought Fluker's Calcium with Vitamin D3 Phosphorus Free. I thought this would work for him because his pond is on the west side of the house and he gets sun for about 2 hrs. in the evening when it's going down and through the slats in the overhang when the sun passes over mid-day. I was told by the forum that this was not even sun but I don't know how to remedy this since I cannot move the pond. That's why I bought the calcium with Vit. D3.

He was getting up on his basking dock a little bit until I cleaned the pond a few weeks ago and I haven't seen him do it since. I've included photos of the pond and overhang so you can see what I'm talking about.

The first photo shows the slats. There are slats over half of the pond and solid over the other half.