General Care Discussion :: Is this pyramiding?

[ataraxiamb]

[steve]

There is a bit of it. Re-evaluate the protein intake. How old is he?

[ataraxiamb]

He's about 2. He gets Mazuri pellets the size of his head MWF and red leaf lettuce everyday. If I feed him less pellets will it resolve itself?

I'm really puzzled because I severely restricted his diet over the last 4 months. Before he was getting a lot of pellets daily. When I switched to Mazuri from cheapo pellets a couple months ago is when I think this started. I've had him for a year and he's only grown .75" in that time, so I didn't think I was overfeeding...

[Diamondbacks4Life]

At 3inches is when you wanna cut down to feeding pellets every day to every other. Large amount of protien in the begining wont hurt small turtles, they actually need it more but once bigger they need less. You might of cut down but it is still to much.

[ataraxiamb]

I already only feed him pellets 3 days a week. That's why I'm puzzled. I cut him to Monday, Wednesday, Friday when he was 2.5". I guess I'll just feed him pellets twice a week and less of them. Will the problem correct itself?

[Diamondbacks4Life]

It will take a couple sheddings but his shell will smooth out. Its very minor pyramiding. I stick to what your doing the outside growth looks smooth. I can tell where you started feeding the cut back. The shell goes rough to smooth. Correction just makes the bad parts look worse.

[ataraxiamb]

That's good to know. I was thinking back, and I don't ever remember his shell being completely smooth. I got him when he was already a year old, and then I contributed for a few months to it by feeding him by the instructions on the turtle food. I give him cuttlebone and blueberries. Is there anything else I can do to induce shedding? In the year I've had him, he hasn't shed a single scute.

[steve]

Lots of basking is the best thing to help shedding. Retained scutes take long to shed, so it can add to the frustration/anxiety/fist-to-wall punching.

[ataraxiamb]

Fortunately he does love to bask. The first 6 months I had him he didn't really have a proper basking area, but now he's all set. He spends most of his day on the rock. And the rest forgaging for poo on the bottom of the tank or chasing lettuce.

Thanks guys! I felt like a really bad turtle mommy. I'm so glad that I've gotten on the right track and that he should be OK.

In my opinion, he's the sweetest turtle on earth.

[CactusJohn5]

it sounds like the diet is legit, protein every other day and greens to fill in the "hungry" periods, you could dial back the protein to 2 days a week if you wanted, but like everyone said, shedding is going to be most important here.

[cameron740]

how is he not scared of you...i moved my room around and out the tank next to my bed and they r a little better but way still skidish

[CactusJohn5]

oh sliders are always "scared" thus there name of slider, they love to slide away quickly into the water, I can hand feed my 2 and they still randomly spaz out sometimes when i walk by.

[Diamondbacks4Life]

how is he not scared of you...i moved my room around and out the tank next to my bed and they r a little better but way still skidish

Most eventually learn who you are and will come to you. Some just always stay scared and more wild like. All depends on the turtle.

[ataraxiamb]

I work from home at my laptop in the living room where the tank is, so he is used to activity. He used jump off the basking rock if I got near, but he's gotten used to me. He's always been relatively mellow. He sometimes squirms when I handle him, but he's never tried to bite and rarely retracts into his shell. I've had him for a year, so the relationship has developed over time.

Does it look like he's retaining scutes? Or is it just that it will take shedding for the problem to resolve itself?

[steve]

Maybe some of his baby scutes are retained but that's normal.