General Care Discussion :: Rescued pair - shell deformed

[uni13]

I rescued a pair of RES this morning. They were kept in a water bucket by the owner who totally neglected them. They are quite big - maybe 6-7 inchs.

I am new to turtles - I have 8 tortoises but these are my first turtles. I've noticed that both their shells are bent upwards from the sides, front & back .. they are not dome shaped like normal shells. Is this a major concern? They seem active but my only concern is the upward bent of their shells.

I have them in a 5x2 tank which has a wet and dry area. I am currently feeding them turtle food... but once I learn more about RES I will make sure they get a good healthy diet.

Should they have a basking spot with a MVB? Any other general tips would be helpful. I will post pictures of their shells tomorrow once I get my cam back ...

Thanks

[SINI5T3R]

UV lights are needed for indoor turtles. take some picturs of there shells and post them here and we can tell you if there shells are messed up or not. also, with RES, make sure to give them as much water as you can with a spot to bask

[Diamondbacks4Life]

The turtle were just fed a bad diet and it caused their shells to get shell curling. There is really nothing you can do for them anymore besides get them on a proper diet now. Their shell will look like that for the rest of their life since they are already pretty big. If this was caught at an early age the shells could have had a better chance at being corrected. The good news is it doesnt effect their health in anyway.