General Care Discussion :: Shell shape changing over time?

[ytse411]

It seems like the shape of Sylvia's shell has changed over the last couple of years...from a nice round dome shape to something..flatter. Could it be due to age? She's about 15ish. Could it be diet?!

Here's an old pic from 2006 showing her nice rounded shape:


And a blurry one from tonight:



And here's two from this summer, just to show off:

[happycamper]

Oh my gosh, what a cute turtle!! How big is she?!

Maybe the water was kinda distorting that 2nd picture, cause it looks a little less flattened in the third. Does look like it's changing though, wacky.

Sylvia is a beautiful turtle though!

[steve]

It does looks a bit flat, has she grown during the last 2 years?

[Jaysea]

wow i love her, such a big girl

[ytse411]

Thanks! the last time I weighed her she was 6 lbs. She hasn't grown, that I can tell, in many years, just periodic scute shedding. Hence the 150 gallon tank...lol...I told her she has to stop growing, cause mama can't fit a bigger tank in living room!

[Moose]

She is a gorgeous somebody!!!

[marisa]

She's very nice looking, but she'd look even better with a nice even shed. I can see the remnants of scutes along the edges of the marginal scutes. The build up makes the shell look thick around the edges.

In the second pic, the shell looks somewhat unusual---like it's a little small for the turtle. This is the only pic where the shell looks this way though, so perhaps it's just the angle of the pic (?).

[ytse411]

Yup, she's had those for eons. every now and then one will finally come off...but there's about 10 yrs worth of scute buildup! I'm hoping the turtle jello shots will help. But I think it helps add protection for when she bangs herself all around the tank.

It was taken in the water, and her head is sucked in a bit. I'll try to get a better picture of her through the glass when she's basking.

[Moose]

Try blueberries to enhance some shedding she is ver gorgeous and looks extremely happy.