General Care Discussion :: Another shell question

[Hatchling71]

My older RES (recently adopted from someone else who wasn't feeding or taking care of them properly) is about 5-6 years old and about 4 inches long (i know, i know) and her shell isn't smooth. Is this normal? I don't think it's pyramiding but it's pretty bumpy, is this just how she is or does it have to do with her poor lifestyle from her previous owner? Sorry, can't attach picture at the time.

[mikee]

H-71 A photo would he helpful for someone to make a comment. One man's bumpy is another man's mountains. One man's normal is another mans's abnormal. Photo please. m.

[SpotsMama]

I agree about the photo. On the overall size, yes 4" is very small for a 5 or 6 year old, especially a female. Has she been tested for parasites?

[Hatchling71]

No, but I'll attach a picture as soon as I can, I'll try to find a picture that looks like her shell in the meantime.

I rescued her from a girl who didn't know how to care for her, that's why she's so small for her age.

[Hatchling71]

Ah ha! Found batteries. So, here she is. What do you think?

[SpotsMama]

Poor baby. Her shell does have problems. It is bumpy and it has a flattened look instead of being dome shaped. She's probably been deprived of calcium and/or good UVB light for a long time. She's going to need a major adjustment to her diet and habitat. Can you get her to a herp vet? If at all possible, have a vet check her out.

For sure she needs calcium and good UVB light. Does she have a cuttlebone in her tank? Be sure to provide a cuttlebone and also the best UVB bulb you can afford. How large is her tank? If it's 50 gallons or more you should consider a T Rex active heat 100 watt flood Mercury Vapor Bulb (with appropriate ceramic fixture). Otherwise, an exo terra Repti Glo 26 watt 5.0 compact fluorescent is a decent UVB bulb for smaller tanks. Turtles need the good UVB light to metabolize the calcium they eat - without UVB the calcium will go to waste. When it gets warm this summer, you can take her out sometimes for natural sunlight, which is the very best source for UVB.

Besides the calcium and UVB for her shell and bones, look over all the other pointers on diet and habitat and let us know if you have any questions. You're a very caring person to have adopted her, so I know you'll do your best to provide her with a good home. She's lucky to have found you.

[Hatchling71]

Thank you, and yes, she has a good UVB light, I'll get her some cuttlebone tonight. She'll be okay though, right? Now that 'm taking care of her properly? Will her shell ever go back to normal?

[laurapa]

Hatchling, I am dealing with the same thing as you. Oliver's shell doesn't have the SAME problems as your girl - his problem is scute retention.

It's really hard to rescue a turtle from a bad habitat and rehabilitate. My turtle is probably 4 years old and only about 4.5" long, due to extreme malnourishment and completely inadequate lighting as a young turt. I don't think he'll ever get much bigger, now that he is almost an adult.

It has taken a long time for Oliver's shell to begin healing. Actually, when we first got him and started feeding him better and giving him proper lighting, he even got WORSE for a time before he started getting better. No doubt because his body was adjusting to a new environment and food and everything.

It takes a lot of time. We have had Oliver for 2 years now and he is only just starting to show signs of healthy growth and shell healing. It's partly a matter of learning what to do in general, and partly a matter of learning your particular turtle's needs, tastes, and quirks. Which takes time.

If you're faithful with her, you'll see signs of healing. I'm interested to hear if a herp vet has hope for the shape of her shell. I wonder if that's the kind of thing that can't be undone, or if good husbandry can make her shell look normal again.

[Hatchling71]

Thanks. Well, she's in good hands now. I hope her shell gets better, I'll keep you all updated.

[Hatchling71]

Do you think her shell will get better eventually? Think she'll be small forever?

[SpotsMama]

Laurapa has a very good point about how turtle shell problems are very slow to develop and very slow to correct.

Hatchling71, I just don't know whether your turtle will ever attain normal size or to what extent her shell will ever achieve the typical dome shape. Perhaps a vet would know. My turtle had some pyramiding and a bad shell fungus infection (my fault - I wasn't taking proper care of him because I didn't know what I was doing until I found this site) and it took over a year of good habitat and some treatment to get his shell looking nice. It was worth the effort though, he's a great little turtle now.

[bradmeisel]

I've been feeding my turtles the jello shot recipe for aboput a month now and I've noticed improvement with their shells but they weren't that bad to begin with.

[Hatchling71]

Yeah I made them a new batch today, I went grocery shopping exclusively for them. I put in it: lots of green leaf lettuce, lots of turnip greens, little bit of apple peel, little bit of mango, couple green beans, a bit of kale, some sweet potato, some zucchini, anacharis, ground cuttle bone, ground Reptomin, a little tuna and I think that's about it. I got them a new basking floater thing, they haven't used it all day, I wonder why. Oh well.

[marisa]

Hatchling71, based (especially) on pic #3, your RES looks like she has MBD (metabolic bone disease). (I'm assuming this is not some kind of old injury.) Improper diet and care will do this over time. At her age, the condition will most likely will not be reversed very much, but with a healthy diet and good habitat, she will live a good and much healthier life. I would not be overly concerned about "pushing" to get her to to grow to a normal size, as faster growth may aggravate any internal problems (the organs being pressed on, for example) that may not be apparent now.

[Hatchling71]

Oh yeah, I'm definately not trying to "make" her grow, I was just wondering. I don't care how big she gets, I still love her