General Care Discussion :: Very worried about Frick!'s Shell, is he pyramiding?!

[Breigh]

I've noticed recently that one of my turtle's shell has been looking rather bumpy. I have two turtles the same age, fed the same and in the same aquarium but their shells look completely different. Radar's looks fine but Frick!'s looks bumpy and weird.

I have a LOT of photos, as I know you all like to see pics to determine what is going on. Please help me. If it is pyramiding, can it be changed? Like if I change something about his feeding habits etc will he be able to grow into a non-pyramided shell?

Also, what are the white marks around the old scutes? It looks scraped or something, I hope it's not shell rot is it?!

Some info:

He is a yellow belly slider, I got him as a hatchling in August (6 months ago) he and my other turtle are kept in a Juwel Rio 180 (55 gallon) tank.
They are fed Hikari Turtle Sticks and Vita Terra Turtle Pellets. I used to feed them a small handful of pellets every day (maybe about 5 pellets each), now I've started feeding every 2nd day. I hand feed them to be sure I know how much each is getting and to prevent aggression.
They also have feeder fish (neon tetra's, 2 female bettas and guppies) in their tank, plus a steady supply of anacharis and cuttlebone. Those 3 things they have 100% of the time.

They have an above tank basking area with UVB / Heat lights and their tank is filled to the top and kept very clean.

He shows no sign of any illness or anything, he swims a lot, eats, basks etc

Please tell me if there is something wrong with him and what I can do to fix it if there is... I'll do anything.

Here are the photos I took today:

[Turtle Love]

Now I'm a newbee to all this but I have read when they grow they shed their shell. Could this possibly be that? Just ran through my mind. I could be completely wrong!!

[jenaero]

It does look very slightly pyramided (is that a word? lol). I was in the same situation a while ago. They both seemed to eat the same amount. One developed pyramiding and the other didn't. I cut the feeding back to 3 times a week with veggies in between. Mine seems to be evening out quite well after a year of that but I'm not sure she'll ever look perfect. The case of my turtle was actually quite a bit worse than yours so don't panic. It should even out over time

It sounds like you're on the right track by cutting back to every other day feedings. Keep that up until they're a year old and then try cutting back a bit more. Mine get fed mon/wed/fri and they're fine.

[Breigh]

Ok he's only a little over 6 months old so hopefully he'll grow out of it as his shell matures.

I find it hard to tell what is just natural shell texture and what is pyramiding. When I see his shell is bumpy and he has what looks like rings around the older smaller scutes all I think is "EEEEK, I'm ruining him!"

Also, the white spots around the old scutes, that's not shell rot is it? It looks sort of like it's scraped or something but there is nothing mushy or smelly about it.

[cam722]

I agree with both posts. It looks like a bit of pyramiding, but it also looks like there is some shedding also. If you run your hand over the shell, do you feel bumps? If so, then there's pyramiding, it should feel smooth if I'm correct. If not, someone will correct me

[industrial_girl_2000]

It looks like he needs to shed those tiny scutes (I can see the scutes lifting around the edges where they are a lighter color than the rest of the shell). Check to see if those scutes will come off easily (they should, just judging from the way they look) & then post another picture. I think he is long overdue for a shedding & that's what you are seeing.

He does look like he is showing some initial signs of pyramiding but also a lot of growth. Wow, in 6 months he has grown a lot!

Other than that, his shell looks good; shiny, and no signs of shell rot or skin/eye problems. Are there any soft areas on the shell? What is the water & basking temp?

[steve]

Looks VERY minor and should look much better once "she" sheds. Keep track of her size and how much you're feeding.

[Breigh]

It looks like he needs to shed those tiny scutes (I can see the scutes lifting around the edges where they are a lighter color than the rest of the shell). Check to see if those scutes will come off easily (they should, just judging from the way they look) & then post another picture. I think he is long overdue for a shedding & that's what you are seeing.

He does look like he is showing some initial signs of pyramiding but also a lot of growth. Wow, in 6 months he has grown a lot!

Other than that, his shell looks good; shiny, and no signs of shell rot or skin/eye problems. Are there any soft areas on the shell? What is the water & basking temp?

I haven't touched the small scutes that are waiting to be shed. They have been like that for what seems like ages now and none have fallen off. I've been too afraid to do anything because I don't want to hurt him or damage his shell. How exactly do I see if they come off? Is there something we are supposed to do to help them shed?

Yeah they have both grown like weeds. They are generally the same size / weight but Radar's shell doesn't look as bumpy as Frick!'s.

His shell doesn't have any soft spots and there are no strange odors coming from him. He behaves like normal doing all the things he's always done.

The water temperature is 26 degrees (c) and the basking temp is 32

[steve]

If it's lifting up all around, you could help it along but from the pics you've posted, you still need to wait a bit. Have they started to bask again?

[Breigh]

Oh yeah they bask loads... ON THE RAMP... *sigh* The little buggers still aren't going up onto the actual basking platform to bask.

I think it's because the UVB bulb I have is a long bulb across the whole tank so they just get out of the water where it's warm and bask, rather than right under the basking light.

I'm going to buy a spotlight type uvb bulb and try to set it up so there is a basking spot on the platform but not on the ramp and see if I can get them up there.

Little idiots are pissin me off

[industrial_girl_2000]

Little idiots are pissin me off

Yeah, they do have their own minds about things! LOL!

[steve]

The UVB bulb itself won't entice them to bask. It's the heat that will draw their attention. I might even want to make it warm only in the platform.

[Breigh]

The very outer edge of the light from the basking light does go onto the ramp. I need to find a way to set it up so that the basking light and UV light both just shine on the platform so that they will actually go past the ramp.

We are going to get a ramp made out of plexiglas to put towards the back of the tank rather than where the current one is at the front... and get a spotlight type UV light for on the platform rather than the big long and bright one we have now.

If they don't start using it soon I swear I'm going to get them a... err.. very stern talking to!

[da sAUCE!]

actually steve, both tyco and ed climb onto the filter to bask under the UVB compact bulb. just like they were basking under the SunGlo. it's funny.

[marisa]

He has retained scutes more than anything. (I'd love to get my hands on him. ) He has a beautiful face.