Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Some background: I just adopted a RES from a woman who didn't want him anymore. He was being kept in horrible conditions: poor lighting, food, water quality - just everything bad. Despite this, he seems to be very active, but he has not eaten since moving in.

The weird thing is that the scutes on the top of the shell are in an odd zig-zag type pattern. I am pretty positive this is a RES, but instead of having an even line of scutes his are crooked and off center. My two other RES have five scutes in the center line, the new kid has nine (in the odd pattern).

I did some research and apparently this can be caused by improper incubation temps. My question is, what are the long term consequences of this? If the shell is malformed, doesn't that mean the underlying skeleton is as well?

The lady I got him from claims he is over two years old, but he is barely an inch and a half long. Could this deformity be why he has stayed so small? Or would his previous living conditions be to blame? Are there any special health problems he might be more prone to?

I would really appreciate any advice or experience anyone out there has.

Thanks,
analog2000

Many turtles can survive birth defects of all kinds (my turtle has one scute that is made up of 6 little scutes---very weird and he has an extremely flat shell which prevents him from turning over when he lands on his back) . He will eat once he is more used to the new surroundings. Poor previous husbandry can lead to a number of problems whatever you do don't place him in with other turtles you may have for at least 2 weeks during which you can observe if he has a diseas/infection or parasites. It may be necessary to take him to a herp vet (take a fecal sample too)---I think it is fair that the previous owner pay for some of the check up costs.

Thanks so much for your response!

As for your turtle, does he seem to have any health problems related to his unusual shell? How old is he, and does he seem to be growing normally?

Turtles are just fascinating!

Thanks again,

analog2000

my turtle has weird scutes too. He's still really small, only about 1 inch. The previous owner got him in september and i got him in april. he didn't seem to grow at all. i have another one that i got in april and he is already bigger.

My turtle does not have shell issues like fungus or soft shell or anything like that but his shell is REALLY flat...if he ends up on his back he cannot right himself at all...otherwise he is healthy and enjoys a normal life

I have two RES with funny scutes.. One of them has long dagger looking scutes going from side to side.. the other one has very neat looking diamond shaped ones the first ones are not even and look jagged.. the second one looks very uniform and neat... I heard from the old forum that some of these deformities come from breeders trying to get Pastels and the incubation temps are higher.. they dont get pastels all the time and many times they get deformed scutes.. I have not seen any problems with mine..