Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi. I need to know if my turt is showing signs of pyramiding, so Ive uploaded a couple of pics for others to view. Also, my turt is only about 2.5 yrs old and her shell length is 6.5 in. Is this normal? I think she a lil overweight too. Does anyone have any recommendations as far as some type of diet food I can feed her? Thankx, Micheley

You have taken a good job with her external wise (shell, skin, bright eyes, etc) but the internal problems are obvious when I look at that picture.

I can see that she is over weight by a lot. You say she's 2.5 years old and 6.5 inches long shell wise? That's not very good. Females do grow larger then males, but not by that much. I don't own a female RES, only 2 males, but I figure at 2.5 she should still be less then 5 inches long if not 4.

You can also tell from her very large arms. They may look healthy to you but they are much bulgier then they should be. I figure that the front of her paw should be larger then her arm.. so in other words it should be a little skinnier where her arm comes out of her shell then gradually get bigger to where her paw is. From what I see in your picture, I simply see a very large arm that has only one shape.

But no worries, just act quickly. Your turlte will beg, you will walk away. She's 2.5 years old and a female so I don't know exaclty what to feed her now (as my 2 males are 7 years old). I figure feed her every other day. Try for more greens like someone suggested.. less protein of course. You can try carrots and other vegetables.. fruits are okay but not as good as vegetables because of stuff like they make the water acidy or something technical like that. Just feed her small portions for about 5 minutes.. feed food then wait, and give some more a bit later. Hopefully she'll poop then you can stop feeding her... I've never dealt with a overweight RES but I figure just feeding her less and less frequently will help with the problem.

Otherwise you have a nice bright eyed slider and keep her that way.

She is a bit large for her age and slightly overweight. If you just cut her down to 3 feedings a week she should start to drop weight. If she still remains chubby (flesh hanging out of the leg hole area) then reduce the amount you are feeding as well.

She does not look unhealthy though. (I am currently working on a rehabbie river cooter that is mordidly obese with shell deformities. If you were to compare her to your turtle you would most definitley see the difference in the health of your animal and one in very poor condition and understand how important it is to slow your turtle's growth and weight gain down. If she continues to gain and grow at her current rate she will begin to show these unhealthy conditions I mentioned.

Don't panic though she is fine. Just start cutting back a bit.

Steve