General Care Discussion :: Question about shell

[Shelbinator]

Hello all.

My son received a RES for his birthday back in November. She has now become Mom and Dads and we have been doing our best to try to make sure she is healthy and happy. She has recently been getting some algae on her shell and I haven't been liking the general appearance of it. Today while cleaning her tank and replacing her filter I took a soft toothbrush and some warm water and gently scrubbed the algae off her shell.
Other than needing to shed is there anything we should be concerned about with her shell?

[steve]

The seams look a bit thick and the scutes retained, so I would reevaluate her diet. How much has she grown since you had her?

[Shelbinator]

About an inch or two.
We are starting to cut back on her pellets and add more vegetables. It's hard with the vegetables since they only last so long and I wasn't sure they lose anything if you freeze them. For vegetables we have mainly been giving her red and green leaf lettuce. Tonight we gave her a blueberry (frozen) and about every 3-4 weeks she gets an earthworm.

[ataraxiamb]

If your fruits and vegetables are still sitting in the tank after a full day, then the RES doesn't like what you gave him, and it's just going to end up stuck to the filter intake. She may learn to, but in the meantime, I'd try new things for her that you and your family might also actually consume while it's still good.

I just got an aquatic plant (hornwart) for my RES Bill. He knew immediately what it was and had a few bites. That will actually grow in your tank like seaweed, and provide a hiding place for her.

Can you take a picture of her tank for us?

Also, what is her name?

[Shelbinator]

Here name is Shelby and she is quite the character. I never would of thought that a turtle could have so much personality.
She loves the lettuce but I'm not sure how much of it to feed her at a time. We had live plants in there at one point and she ate them. But she is so destructive and had them torn up and all over the place and it was such a mess and so hard to clean.
I read about the blueberries and shedding but how many and how often? I only gave her one and she loved it!
Here is Shelbyville.

[ataraxiamb]

Well, Shelly has some nice digs! From what I've read around here, blueberries shouldn't be fed more than once a week. I'm not sure how many at a time, but just a few. I think a lot of people actually hand feed the lettuce. So they'll eat what they need when you feed. I think a lot of people use Romaine lettuce. This amounts are also going to depend on how many pellets you are feeding in addition to the lettuce or blueberries. I'm sure others will register some opinions on this.

I've noticed already that the hornwart is making a mess. Not because of Bill, but just him swimming through/past it, it is shedding all over the place.

[apondfortimmy]

I've been using red lettuce, partly because I can get it organic and partly because I can put it in as a whole bunch in my big tank and it's gone within two hours. All my turtles but one love it and it isn't too expensive or anything. Even when my turtles like to eat the stuff I buy, sometimes it does still get yucky because I buy enough for a few days and it turns fast, so I totally get the sucky factor of having that happen. I don't really have a solution except to try the turtle jello shot idea (in the feeding thread area). Or get flash-frozen veggies in the bag and just take out a few pieces the night before or something.

Also all of mine seem to like the dandelion greens that I can sometimes get at the store. If I can trust the source (no pesticides or weed killers), I can just pick some from outdoors. My neighbors think I'm a hoot when I ask them if they've used weed killers or sprays and then ask if I can pick their weeds for them. I certainly have to wash them, of course, but it saves me $3 a bunch. (Who'd have thought I'd ever EVER *pay* for dandelion leaves? Not me!)

[steve]

Do you have a larger picture of the top of the shell? I'd just like a closer look. Try a veggie clip when you're putting lettuce in the tank. They cost about $3 at the pet store. I'd also remove the small rocks... anything smaller than her head should not be in the tank. Small rocks also trap a lot of waste and makes cleaning difficult. The UVB and basking light should both be over the basking area.

[Shelbinator]

We got rid of the small gravel. This is larger river rocks.
We have been playing around with the lights and now have them both over her basking area.
We normally try to hand feed her lettuce then when it gets small drop it in her tank. I'm going to try some zucchini and carrots tonight since that's what we have on hand. After some reading we are going to cut back on her pellets and add a lot more veggies.
I'll try to get a new picture.

[n00bEmpty]

My turtles are in a habit of only eating things that are green. It doesn't matter what they are, as long as they're green. If it isn't than they simply won't eat it.
A rule I follow for feeding a turtle pellets and such is trying to make a $7 dollar bottle of turtle pellets last as least 7 months. If I'm running out too fast then I reevaluate my turtles' diet with more veggies.