General Care Discussion :: Is this normal shell growth? (picture included)

[kneenuh]

the carapace has dark spots between the scutes around the marginal area.


and the plastron as a white sort of soft area down the middle


I know that this stuff can happen in younger turtles, but I never had april as a baby, so I just want to confirm with you experts that it's normal.

She also has some corners of her scutes peeling back, but they won't come off......just wondering if that's normal shedding....and if not, perhaps I should post a picture?

How big is your turtle? 6 inches??
How long have you had it? 6 months about...

What is the water temperature? 79 degrees
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? 30 gallons?
Are you using a water conditioner? yes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? 90 degrees
Is there a basking light? yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? fake rock
Is there a UVB light? no, I have an outdoor kiddie pool that Iput her out in every couple of days, or I let her roam the garden supervised

What have you been trying to feed it? veggies, pellets, guppies
When was the last time your turtle ate? today, some lettuce and pellets

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 40 gallon tank (I'm saving for a 120gallons)
Is the tank near a window? yes
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? yes

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes, and I only found this case in babies

[steve]

She looks good

Has she been growing since you've had her? She also seems to have an extra scute

[industrial_girl_2000]

She looks very normal to me. Nice job with her!

[marisa]

Nice looking turtle (with a nice shell).

[kneenuh]

Well she didn't have this when I inherited her. So I was assuming that she was growing.....but I wanted to confirm since the strip on the plastron is a little soft.

I have not measured her once (I know bad mommy....where's my door frame with the measurements over the years?)

Thank you all, I'll tell April your compliments, and her head will grow even larger.

Steve - Where do you see the extra scute?

[steve]

...looks like there is an extra vertebral (2nd from the front). There is a diagram of the shell here: www.redearslider.com/anatomy.html)