Urgent Care :: Shell ring

[pezjunkie2001]

My Turt, Boris< is growing fast and his shell is looseing it's bright green. around the bright green that he had when i first got him, his shell is turning very dark, it is like a dark ring around the bright green. is this what shell sheading looks like or is he sick.

i don't know how to post a pic but if any one knows what i am talking about plaese help

[jenaero]

here's a link on how to post a pic

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1811

sounds like normal growth to me.

[pezjunkie2001]

this is boris and his shell. the rings are bigger now.

[jenaero]

looks like he may be growing a bit too fast. What and how much are you feeding? I'm also going to suggest you get rid of the gravel and use river rocks instead.

[marisa]

From what I can see, it does look like the growth is coming a bit too fast. the darker area looks like healthy shell? What is his diet like, and how much and how often are you feeding him? At some point your turtle should shed those smaller scutes.

[pezjunkie2001]

Boris gets a Pellet twice a day. they are little pellets. is this too much? is there wnything i can do to help him shed?

[marisa]

The pellets are Reptomin Baby? If so, two of those a day doesn't sound like that much to me. How big is he (shell length)? You don't feed him any other foods? (Look at the feeding info for what you can give to add variety to his diet.)

Does he have proper lighting to bask under (BOTH a UVB light and a heat light such as a regular lightbulb to heat the basking area to 88-90F)? Does he get out of the water to fully dry off and bask? This would help him shed any old scutes (don't try to help him by taking them off if they're not ready to come off).

[khobbs]

my res is doing the exact same thing and looks the same way, but i think the lines are darker. i think i am feeding her too much. my other res hasn't grown near as much in the short time that we have had them. i feed them reptomin pellets, a few a couple times a day. they also have feeder fish, but the other day was the first time i actually saw her catch one and eat it. they also have some anacharis in their tank. is this too much also?

[marisa]

How old/big (shell length) is your turtle? Exactly how many pellets a couple (2?) times a day?

[khobbs]

i'm not really sure on their age but i have had them for about a month and a half. the smaller one is probably 1 1/2" and the one that has the rings is probably around 3" when we got them they were pretty much the same size, but mercedes, the one with the rings has always been a little bit bigger, but she is almost double dana's size. i feed them about 3 or 4 pellets about 2 times a day. they seem happy and they act normal. any ideas?

[marisa]

If you're concerned about the shell, can you post a pic? When you feed them, do they eat together? Do they get an equal share of the food?

[khobbs]

i always feed them at the same time but for the past couple of days i've been feeding the at the same time just one by one though so i can make sure they get the same amount. i will post a pic as soon as i can, but my mom is using my digital camera and she's out of town so i will have to wait until she gets back.

[staman]

Yeah I noticed one my RES with that problem and I think it's overfeeding as well. He was the more agressive of the two and would always eat most of the food. I now hand feed them both seperately. Ive cut him down to two pellets a day but there are a multitude of plants in the tank he can munch on whenever he wants. Plant matter shouldnt really affect his shell growth should it?

[steve]

The protein/fat content of veggies should not have the same impact as pellets, though, they should never get an excess of anything.