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Hi again all...

I've been noticing some real changes in my turtles' shells and I wanted to know if it is normal.

As I've mentioned before, I have two baby yellow bellied sliders, which I know aren't really the breed associated with this forum, but there aren't any YBS communities out there and as I understand it one kind of slider is very close to another.

When I first got my Turtles (Mordin and Pinkman) they were light green and only slightly larger than the size of a silver dollar, this was maybe 7 weeks ago and I think they were only recently hatched when I bought them. Pinkman's shell was always darker than Mordin's, one of the chief differences between them is that the patterning on Mordin's shell made more room for the lighter colours.


(Mordin on the left, Pinkman on the right)

I moved them to a 25 gallon tank for the time being and until recently I was alternating UVA and UVB bulbs on a day today basis because I only had one lamp. Early last week their second lamp finally arrived and since then they've had both lamps trained on them during the day time. The lamps aren't on timers though, but I'm pretty regular with the timing.

The first time I noticed any real changes in their shell was when the dark lines dividing the plates of Pinkman's shell changed from a dark, almost black colour to a light almost white colour. I looked it up and these looked like every picture of growth-lines I could find, so I didn't worry. They certainly have been getting bigger, so I figured it was a healthy thing.

Last night, however, I returned home very late due to unforeseeable circumstances and as a result, their tank was lit up between 7AM and 2PM. The first thing I noticed was that Mordin, who generally basks more than Pinkman, had a much darker shell now. Dark enough to match Pinkman's in fact. I'm wondering if this is the turtle equivalent of a sunburn or a tan, or if this is far more serious? Should a turtle's shell darken at this young age?

Secondly there has always been a lighter spot on the top of Mordin's shell where the pattern sort of breaks. Before it was light green, so I didn't think it was an infection, here is how it used to look;



Now that Mordin's shell has darkened that patch hasn't - and seems very pale in comparison, almost as light as Pinkman's growth lines. Almost white. I ran my finger over it and his shell is hard, not soft. I couldn't get a picture yet, but I will tonight.

In the meantime - is there any chance this might just be odd patterning, or some kind of growth mark, or does it sound like a bacterial infection? And if it IS an infection, what kind of treatments work for that?

Thanks,

-MVB

Maybe just growth.

Got the pics!

Are these growth lines?



And is this a bacterial or fungal infection?

The second one is maybe shell rot. Is it fluffy or smelly? Can you try scatching it off?

No it isn't fluffy or smelly, it feels just like the rest of his shell, I'll see if I can scratch it off later when I get home.

Also by the way, it didn't look nearly as light yesterday as I thought it did the day before, but it's still the lightest part of his shell.

Those do look like growth lines. You may want to cut back on what you're feeding him, as growth lines indicate they're growing too quickly.

Hm. I actually did cut down their food already recently because I thought they were getting overweight.

The discoloration look just to be from growth and like the previous person stated may want to look into your feeding habits for them. So what are the feeding habits like. How do you feed them throughout the week?

Right now they're mainly eating pellets, grasshoppers rolled in calcium dust, meal worms and river shrimp. Neither of them will give vegetables the time of day. I'm feeding them Fluckers pellets intended for adults because they can't seem to eat the hatchling formula I bought from zoo-med, those little pellets are so small that they float right out of their mouths every time they try. I read that they are meant to be primarily carnivorous at this age, so some days I just feed them shrimp.

I'm actually having a hard time figuring out how much to feed them. Before I was doing what I've seen suggested a lot online and feeding them as much as they will eat in an hour in one feeding per day. That could be up to five of the pellets and maybe a mealworm or a shrimp. When I'm not giving them pellets, I give them up to six 'BIG RED' shrimp, or five or so mealworms (less of those recently), or 2/3 grasshoppers. I try to avoid giving them the same food two days in a row, but it sometimes happens.

About a week ago I started to worry about their weight and reduced the amount of food I give them by about half. Around 3 pellets, or 3 shrimp, or a couple of mealworms... but now the lines are starting to appear on Mordin. Am I still overfeeding them?

There are sometimes a yellowish streak down the vertebral scutes, especially when theres a slight ridge.

That is a lot of protein your feeding them lol. Way way to much. Pellets alone contain enough protein for them and then your adding all this other stuff which should be considered as treat. Not something you want to feed them all the time. Drop everything else but the pellets. Keep throwing vegetables in the tank, its fine for it to sit in there a day and overnight. See if they go after it and remove it in the morning.

How much to feed, I follow how much they can eat of pellets in about 10mins and then stop. Until they reach 3inches then cut them down to feeding every other day.

How often do you feed them when they're babies? I've been feeding mine once a day, but lots of people online are suggesting that I feed them twice or even three times in a day.

I've also been advised to vary the food I give them, because I'm told that they may stop eating other kinds of foods if I only give them pellets. Other people keep impressing that they are 'strictly carnivourous' at this age... is that information all garbage?

steve wrote:There are sometimes a yellowish streak down the vertebral scutes, especially when theres a slight ridge.

Do you think that's what these marks are?

MVB wrote:How often do you feed them when they're babies? I've been feeding mine once a day, but lots of people online are suggesting that I feed them twice or even three times in a day.

I've also been advised to vary the food I give them, because I'm told that they may stop eating other kinds of foods if I only give them pellets. Other people keep impressing that they are 'strictly carnivourous' at this age... is that information all garbage?

You really only need to feed them once a day. They do need more protein when they are hatchlings, but introducing veggies and greens is certainly not harmful. I agree with DB4L's recommendations.

Sure thing then, I'll switch to a pellet heavy diet and try harder to coax them towards eating greens.