Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hi everyone!

[irisheyes24]

Hi. I'm Shanna. Just wanted to introduce myself.

I have a RES named Shelly. I got him in Jan of 2007 when he was about 4 inches long.

So glad i found this forum

[emma]

Welcome to the forum! Do you have any pictures of him?

[irisheyes24]

Yes I do. Here is a shot of him on his dock a few months ago

[LOBO]

lol he looks very proud of himself lol

[marisa]

Welcome. He's a nice looking RES. In the pic, though, the shell looks a bit bumpy (and there appears to be a slight upward tilt to the marginal scutes toward the rear).

How much has he grown in the past year? What size is he now (shell length without the curve)? What do you feed him, how much and how often?

[irisheyes24]

His shell has been like that since I got him.

He's grown roughly one inch in about a year. He is about 5 inches now and when I got him he was about 4. I feed him some pellets every other day...and give him some lettuce or carrots daily (however, likes the pellets more)

Honestly i never really noticed an upwards tilt until you mentioned it. Looking back on it. I just looked at an old pic I have from when I first got him...and his shell is the same way. Is that a bad thing?

[marisa]

Gee, wasn't there a bigger picture of him before?

If that's how you got him, and he was 4 inches at the time, his shell is most likely the result of living conditions and how he was fed before. In young turtles, the upturn of the shell and bumpiness are often caused by overfeeding and/or too much protein. If you make sure his diet is varied and well-balanced and he has proper lighting to bask under, there shouldn't be a problem.

[irisheyes24]

Ok thanks! He eats the pellets like crazy and isnt too find of the veggies...but I'm really trying to make sure he has a good diet. He loves basking so I think thats good for him and he has been going very good since I got him. No problems at all thankfully and I've had him for about 13 months! yay!