Urgent Care :: Strange Shell formation

[NikkiD]

My younger turtle, roughly 4 inches has a strange formation of the scutes on her back. She, and another 5 inch RES are living in a 75 gallon, accurate temps water and air, with proper feeding and basking time. I know the tank is a little small right now, but I am in the process or raising money for a larger tank.

I am feeding them regurally altenating with pellets, shrimp, krill and fruit, along with cuttlebone every now and then.

The scute towards the middle of her back has splid into multiple scutes. They are just as hard as the rest of the shell, no discoloration or softness to it. Also, there is no shedding.

And on the botton of the shell, the final middle scrute has split into two and the top portion is slightly raised. It is also just as hard and normal colored, but I don't know what could be doing this or if it's harmfull.

Here are some pics.







Any suggestions????

[marisa]

My RES has had a gap between his two marginal scutes above the tail since he was a hatchling, and it became more pronounced with time. I've seen other turtles with a gap as well. I'm attributing the gap to the face that my RES has one extra vertebral scute, and that the gap is there to accomodae the extra length (this is just my thinking). If your turtle's shell is hard and healthy otherwise, I wouldn't worry about it.

You didn't notice any extra scutes when your turtle was smaller? I don't think a scute can just divide up into smaller ones, especially if there is a seam (line) in between them...Turtles can have extra scutes/irregular scutes. The white area in the pics is just in the pics?

You're feeding a rather high protein diet there---shrimp and krill are very high in protein, and pellets have a good amount as well. Too much protein often leads to shell deformities (pyramiding is one) and will ultimately shorten your turtle's life. How much do you give at feeding time and how often do you feed? Overfeeding will also lead to the problems noted. It would be better to give fruit (what kind are you giving) only occasionally and offer more leafy greens (dandelions, red leaf and romaine lettuce, collards, for example) instead. (There's a list of good and bad foods on the site.) Some greens can be offered daily--the shrimp and krill should only be rare treats. For pellets, feed only an amount the size of the head for each no more than every other day.

[NikkiD]

I only got these turtles a couple months ago, and although I checked them out when I first got them, I never noticed the strange shape of the scutes. I wouldn't be surprised if they were already there back when I got them and I just didn't notice. This turtle has always been a little skiddish. She doesn't like to be held and tends to swim away from people and hide.

As for feeding, I keep in mind the high protien. I feed them fruits like bananas, pears, and melon on occasion. I also feed them roman lettuce quite often, since I eat salads a lot, I ten to share some lettuce with them (of cource before I add dressing). I use the prefered list online all the time to check to see whats good for them. But I'm trying to ween them onto new foods, since the last person who owned them only fed them pellets for the first year of their lives.

Thank you for your help. I'll definately keep a close eye on it, but I'll stop freaking out over it.

[marisa]

I'd feed bananas very, very rarely. Their high in phosphorus, which is already abundant in the diet. An imbalance of phosphorus and calcium will cause shell problems. Adding some cuttlebone to their diet if you're not doing so would also be good.