General Care Discussion :: How hard is their shell suppose to be?

[Sherakosmom]

I have one turtle the other recently died. His shell is somewhat soft. I have the Dr.turtle tab you put into the water. I have the proper basking light. He eats a diet of the pellets, lettuce and sometimes fruit. He acts healthy he swims alot he likes to bask. He follows us as we walk into the room.
Oh another thing the Dr. Turtle calcium turtles don't disolve all of the way, my sister has some RES and she said her calcium tabs disolve completely. Any suggestions.?

[sonyj]

Sorry about your loss. What did he die of?

How big is the turtle you still have (shell length from tip to tip not including curve)? If it is a hatchling (under a year old) it will have a little "give" to it but not be squishy soft. As they grow and get older their shells should harden up. Is this something that has just begun or become noticeable?

Also, the form of calcium in those tablets are not the kind that your turtle can use or readily absorb. They are a waste of money and are usually suggested not to be used. Instead, buy a piece of cuttlebone from the pet store (found in the bird section). Scrape the hard backing off and drop it in the tank in bite size to head size pieces for your turtle to eat. This is a much better source of calcium.

[Sherakosmom]

Im not sure what the other turtle died of I think it may be soft shell from what I read his shell had a white coating and he didin't do much weeks before he died, but then again he never seemed healthy he barley ate and didn't do much.

The turtle I have now is almost a year old he is about 1 1/2 inches long. Ill do the cuddle bone tomorrow.

[missibsu]

How soft is the shell? Do you have any pictures of it? Also, you mentioned that your turtle loves to bask. How often does your turt bask, and do you have a UVB light?

Sorry about your loss, and welcome to the forum!

[industrial_girl_2000]

I have used the calcium "water neutralizer" blocks for my turtle. I put the calcium block into the waterfall filter (not inside the filter bag itself, but just drop it into the swirling water behind the filter bag). The block slowly dissolves in the swirling water, adding calcium to the tank. This works great!

[missibsu]

The problem with the calcium blocks is that it isn't in a form that the turtles benefit from. Getting some cuttlebone from the bird section at the petstore and breaking it into bite size chunks is a better route. You do have to peel off the hard backing before you do that.

[marisa]

How much your turtle would benefit would depend on the form of calcium being used in the block.

[Sherakosmom]

I bought the cuttle bone peeled the back and put it in his tank. He doesn't touch it though. How often should I do this?

[missibsu]

Did you break it into pieces, or just throw the chunk in? Try making head sized pieces. And just leave it float, he'll eat it eventually. Mine weren't interested at first either.