Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a RES its only a few months about the size of a half dollar I noticed this morning that its shell is softening and the endges are flexable. I've heard of softshell before but don't know what too do for it the turtle has a heat lap right now and I'm not sure what kind of bulb I bought it when I bought the lamp the petstore said that would be all the turtle needed it wasn't a very expenpensive bulb but I have a feeling it needs more. I will admit that the turtle is taking alot more than I was told it would when I allowed my kids too have it its care is certainly more than a small child can handle which I don't mind looking after it I just don't know much about them. right now the turtle is in a 10 gallon tank with a good sized swim area and a heater and filter I bought with the heat lamp. When I got the turtle for my kids the place told me that just a small little island bowl would be ok but shortly after we had it within a week I bought it the other things. You can guess I no longer go too that petstore. But what do I now we have a res that I am afraid isn't going too get what it needs because I don't know what too do for it. email me here or privately at wtbrennan@msn.com

Does your RES have a rock to sun himself on? He needs to be able to get out of the water to bask. Granted im a fairly new owner as well. I've had my RES for lil over 5 months now so i dont know about the health and disease side of things. I do know that your turtle needs to be able to get out of the water. There are things you could add to his food or water that might help to , i would just rather let someone else here direct you about that though. Dont want to give bad advise.
-Gypsy

yes he does I perchased him a little island and built the bottom of the tank up with gravel too make a slop so he can get out of the waterI've looked around online tonight when my husband gets off from work we are getting him a UVB light how long do I leave that on him each day and do I still use the heat light?
Thanks everyone for your help.

i leave my turtles light on about 6 hours a day ... and i use an actual heater rather then a heat light. Make sure his water stays between 73-80 degrees.
-Gypsy

he's got one of those too but I use it at night because in my house it gets cold so I put the actual heat light on the basking area

The turtle could be suffering from Metabolic Bone disease (MBD).
Good that you are getting him that UVB light and make sure you leave it on him longer than 6 hrs. (the person that has it set for six hours is fine with doing that in that the turtle they have is healthy). Try around 8 hrs with that and see if you can get him to eat some cuttlebone (you can get this at a petstore and just feed the soft front part of it to him not the hard back)
If he has a certain. Just break a small piece of it off and put it in his water to see if he will eat it. If not -- see if you can put some very small pieces into a piece of cooked shrimp and feed it to him that way. Good luck.

First off, Id like to know what pet store sold you a baby RES (although you didnt actually say the pet store sold it to you). Next, before you spend too much time, you may want to consider that when full grown your turtle may be over 12 inches long and will need a 100 gallon tank. Also, aquatic turtles are not for kids to take care of, but im sure you know that by now. When your turtle is full grown it will be capable of delivering a painful bite which will break the skin and bleed. I have been bitten by a few in the wild. Reptiles are never tame, only some get more accustomed to human interaction than others.

As far as the soft shell goes, I wouldnt know, Ive never had a sick turtle, but I do know that aquatic turtles are a lot of work, and if you want a happy turtle, try to get as far above the minimum requirements as you can.
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when I got the turtle for my kids i didn't know much about about them but I've been online and done a good deal of research we got the UVB light tonight and a few other things for it. I know that it will be a good size and will certainly need a larger tank in about a year or less. But its good for a start I felt. I have been shopping around for a larger tank we planned getting the min a 55 but are looking for anything larger. I've ben watching ebay and checking other places. Eventually we will set up a outdoor pond and fix it so no other animals can get in or it can getout. I know the kids couldn't take care of it alone that i owuld helping as soon as we discovered it certainlly needed more than what we bought with it when perchased the turtle we got it a good set for a 10gal anyways I'll let everyone know how it goes the UVB light is on the little guy now