General Care Discussion :: worried and confused

[tdoan]

i know for sure that my 2 about 8months res is have a pyraminding problem ive cut back on their food for about 2 months now but it doesn't seem to help i think i might be because im only feeding them pellets and nothing esle before i used to give them romain lettece but when they went to the washroom it wasn't really great i had to change the water right away so i stop and only fed them pellets everysince... what a bad owner i am =( i want to fix the pyraminding before i even feed them anything new but giving them less food won't do is there any suggestions i read that u can give them carrots right? i was think of giving them it and maybe it wouldn't be too messes cleaning up after them cuz carrots digest a different way but would that help?
Also their tank around almost cleaning time has alge so i usally clean it earlier when i c that does the alge hurt them? if not is it good for them? Any suggestions to how to fix their pyraminding problem and alge tank problem is really helpful Please and Thankyou for any comments and suggestions

[SpotsMama]

It's going to take more than two months before you can see that pyramiding has stopped because the shell grows slowly. In other words, when a shell is damaged (from pyramiding or fungus or anything else) it takes years for the new beautiful shell to grow in.

Can you tell if the pyramiding is getting worse? Or does it just seem to be the same?

[tdoan]

i dunno i think it's getting worse because it's not only bumpy but it's also kinda of sinking in? but it doesn't seem to be soft or anything

[grey goose]

Can you post a pic of your turt's shell dry?

[tdoan]

ill try my best to post up a picture but i can't find my carema =( ill probably post one up in 2 days or so just enought time to find my carema is there any suggestions on his diet can i give them carrots so their diet would balance out? and is the alge a bad thing or a good thing?

[grey goose]

Algae is not harmful to your turt. Carrots should be offered maybe once a week, but not much more than that. Offer romaine every other day if he's getting the runs. Check the stickys on what to feed and what not to feed your turtle. Variety is the key.

[tdoan]

ok thankz for the info im going to try and post up a picture as soon as possible that carema is no where to be found

[RiverChubbs]

I used to have this same problem with my turltes water getting dirty really fast. I had to clean it weekly instead of bi-weekly or monthly. I switched filters. I now have this awesome filter it is a submergible fluval 2 plus. I have pasted the link below. I bought it at petsmart for $30. It is good for up to 30 gallons of water and I have a 20 gallon (I find if you buy the filter/pump for a little more water than your tank has, they keep it extra clean longer. All you have to do it ook at the filter once in a while and this little yellow thing will pop up, when the filter needs to be cleaned. Then you only need to clean the filter once every other week, instead of the whole tank ever week.

You of course, should still do a partial water change monthly or bi-monthy..but this will help and you should always try and feed romain and or anacharis plant...it is really good for them. One of my turtles started to get a little pryamiding and I cut back on protein about 5 months ago and his shell still looks bumpy but he seems hppier and healthier...good luck.

http://www.petsmart.com/global/product_ ... fluval&N=2

[tdoan]

thanx for the info RiverChubbs it's really helpful but i just recently feed my turtles carrot at first in the beginning they dind't really touch it but after when i checked back the next day they ate a lot of it and their mouth kind of turned orangy is it because of the carrot because thats what i think but im still wondering answers would really help and the pictures will be posted up soon very soon for those people that want to see how bad the pyraminding it is that im saying

[grey goose]

Yep, carrots will turn their mouths orange.....orange lipstick. At 8 months your turtle should not have signs of pyraminding unless you are seriously overfeeding it. Gomez's shell still looks irregular, some of his scutes are slightly concave, while others are nice and smooth. It's also slightly flared and serrated in the back. I'm guessing it's still not fully formed.