Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I took some photos of my RES and his environment, but having trouble uploading them...I think I need to use basic html to do this, yes?

I had some questions on his shell, not sure if it's healthy...it looks cracked or not forming together, near the tail...looks a bit rough around the edges....

If there's an easy way to upload the photos, please let me know...

Thx!

Get an account in the kingsnake photo gallery and upload your photos there. Then you will have a drop down menu of your pics when you add a message so you can just select the one you want to include. The only time you need html is if you want to have more than one pic in a message.

It sounds like your turtle is overfed which is causing his shell to get deformed. If you correct your feeding habits it should get better over time, although it will never be right. It probably looks something like this.

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Thanks. Yes, this is exactly what the shell looks like....Wow, overfeeding? I don't feed it too much. Perhaps I overfed it when I first got it, over a year ago.

Thanks to all for helping with posting photos. Hopefully I'll figure it out!

The image URL box is for the URL of the image on the internet, not for where it sits on your hard drive. You need to upload your photo to the internet first. then use the URL of the image. The image below is housed at: http://www.iturnrocks.com/images/hometank/turtles/012504b.JPG

That is a file only, not a webpage. Make sure the image URL ends in .jpg or .gif, not .htm or .html.

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Here is a photo of Tommy....see his shell re: the gaps near the tail where it isn't forming together....

Im pretty sure RES shells are just shaped that way. I didnt see anything wrong with it. Overfeeding usually results in bumpy shells like my painted on the right in this picture. See how bumpy the shell is compared to the one in the middle.

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I noticed tonight that Tommy's shell near his tail is really split between (scales)...I noticed in your photo (iturnrocks) that your RESs' shells are more filled in around the edge of their shells than mine...I'll keep an eye on it. Perhaps a little more calcium supplement or cuttlebone for him...

Here is a photo of Tommy's environment. Should I add more water? I don't want him to burn himself on the lighting (75w), see photo. He's been basking from morning until night every day. The water temp is around 72. I know that if he had more water, he'd have a bigger home. I am planning on rearranging his tank this weekend with a better and bigger basking area for him. I also bought a 5 gallon water heater...perhaps that will keep the water warmer for him and he'll stay in the water more.

When do you think he may outgrow this 20 gallon tank?

Thx.

if it makes you feel better... my turtle has a "split" towards the tail end of his shell as well and I've taken him for a "wellness" exam to a vet and the vet said I have a "good looking turtle". Your turtle looks young so I wouldn't be concerned unless he were older. His shell is still developing. Cuttlebone doesn't hurt and is actually fun for the turtle to eat (play with).

Oh... and you turtle will go back in the water if he is getting too hot under the basking lamp so don't worry about that
I wish I had that problem (basking too much)... my turtle only basks when no one is around so I never see him doing it

Thanks! That's good information, I appreciate you passing that on!! That makes me feel better about his shell.

Thx to iturnrocks, too, for the info on his tank. I am planning to put a heater in his tank (a 5 gallon one since the water is not all the way up). I'm also going to add a little more water to his tank and rebuild his basking area...

Thx!

The turtles of mine that you speak of are not RES, those are painted turtles, the little one on the left is a RES, but he is not mine, hes a sick turtle im rehabbing, so I wouldnt base your turtles health on his condition.

Use a thermometer to check basking temps, if you filled the tank up, I doubt it would get too hot. You could always use a smaller bulb, but Id be surprised if its getting enough heat the way your tank is set up now.
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iturnrocks did you build that cage?

iturn rocks...is that cage made of wood? I didn't know you could fill a wood box with water...

its a 120 gallon aquarium with a custom canopy hood that I built out of plywood.

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