Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a few questions about some of the various Pastel RES variations I see out there. I have seen quite a number of beautiful pastels as babies really stunning but never really see adults with the same colorations. Of course I imagine they dull with age but how much color say on the head, skin, and shell do they retain while maturing? Also about pastels, I have read and heard many things about how o go about producing them. I have been told both that it is a genetic variation and I have also heard it is only a temperature fluctation during incubation, can anyone dispell some myths or help me seek the truth? Another question about pastels, I notice a very large percentage of pastels have abnormal scutes. The abnormal scutes leads me to belive it maybe more so a temperature fluctuation rather than genetic, but I could be wrong and thats why i'm asking. Also one last question about them is can the abnormal scutes potentially cause the turtle harm as it grows? Thanks so much for taking time to read this and any info is greatly appreciated.
Michael Beberman
Mother Gecko - Reptiles

I've had a pair of 'pastel' RES for 3 years, receiving them when they were smaller than a 50-cent peice. I assume they are 4 years old, and their shells are easily 5 inches long now. They are not siblings, and each has its own unique 'pastel' look. Although I have no proof of their gender, I'm pretty sure I've got one of each. Anyhow, the male has always had a very irregular shell, looking much like a spanish conquistador helmet... Very pointy in the middle of his back, and jagged outer-edges of the shell all curve up at the ends. The larger scutes have a bright orange round mark, which has become less bright over time, but clearly orange just the same. His scutes are arranged in a non-symmetrtical pattern, creating a zig-zag line down the length of the shell. The 'tip of the hat' is like a mountain - jutting straight up like the techtonic plates of the earth. His irregular shell has never posed any sort of problem since the day I dropped 'em in the tank, BUT, as my veterinarian tells me, his 'mountain' scutes may need to be ground down. In terms of his skin color, his dark green lines have always been lighter in shade than a normal RES, but they are very intricate and defined. His head and neck are just as they were the day I met him, the most attractive design of the deepest orange. The female's skin has the same story - but the lines on her skin and her shell appear more like hand-painted lines. Her shell coloring never had orange, it was always just yellow - with these hand-painted lines on each scute. The coloration of the lines has lightened over time, and the width of the lines have increased. Her scutes also form the zig-zag line, but the general shape of her shell has always been ideal and normal. No pointing, no jagged edges, co curving. Smooth and dome-like. They're some cool looking turtles. THE SHORT ANSWER: In my 4 years, the unique coloring of the pastel RES has not diminished, and the irregularity of the shells have not impeded normal aging. If any one would like to see pics, just tell me how to post them! I've got baby pics too.

When I said the Veterinarian told me about scute-grinding, she did not mean he must have it done immediately... she said it may become a problem, and it may not.

This is my female.

The one in focus is my male