Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, I bought a new res about 2 months ago, his shell has always been a lil white....a few patchs.......they dont feel soft though, they just look reallly dry.........she basks ALOT! But im worried it may be soft shell cause i hear the shell turns white when its soft......i feed them a few reptomin sticks a day each... rosie reds everynow and then......and strawberries and lettuce every few days......is this enough calcium for her diet? I also have one of those disolving white rocks in there that put the nutrients in the water. Am i just paranoid or am i doing a good job at a balanced diet?

if you are that worried about giving your turtle more calcium... you can either buy one of those cuttle bones from a store and break off the hard backing, break that up and put a few pieces of that into the water, or you can break up egg shell and feed that to them! either of those are a great source of calcium. but honestly, you should always have fresh greens available for your turtle. and some people say that you shouldnt feed them everyday, every other day is sufficient for the newborns! mine are about 2 yrs old, i feed them every other day, and i vary their diet. i have greens and pieces of carrot available daily and i only feed them meat(feeder fish, earthworms...) or pellets every other day! hope this helps...
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~ Evie

Pets:
German Shephard {Dusty}
German Shephard/Collie mix {Shadoe}
2 RES turtles {Booger and Snot}
African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
Snail {Gary}

You don't mention a UVB light. Some consider UVB lighting essential for normal shell formation.

I just switched to a 60 watt uv loght and she seems to love it and she basks ALOT, so i know they are getting their calcium that way. Ill try some egg shell thanks alot....i never heard of that. And ill try and not feed them everyday....its so hard though! They always look so cute and hungry and I give in!

Your 60 watt bulb is UVA only, you need to buy a flourescent tube bulb that produces UVB. The white patches may just be mineral deposits from the water.
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if you are concerned about soft shell, then you MUST get your turtle some sunlight! sunlight causes a chemical reaction that produces vitamin d in the body. vitamin d is necessary for calcium absorption. if your turtle doesn not absorb calcium, it gets soft shell. if you are noticing white patches, that sounds fungal--better get to a vet. direct unfiltered sunlight is best, but you must also provide shade so your turtle can regulate its temp. also, glass filters out the necessary wavelengths, so tkae them out of the aquarium! besides an aquarium in sunlight would bake your turtle, think of those poor ants on the sidewalk under the magnifying glass. another thing that is necessary is a uvb FLOURESCENT tube, NOT A BULB think flourescent, more specifically, think zoo med reptisun 5.0. this is the best one. they are pricey, but as luck would ahve it, they are on special right now at LLL reptile online, go get as many as you can afford. also, lettuce is NOT good to feed, its very nutritionally lacking. feed mustard, collard, dandelion (pesitcide free!!)squash, cantaloupe, green beans, peas, green peppers, yucca root, carrot, etc. try to feed a few each day and change what you feed often. if you would like more info you can check out melissa kaplans web site. she has great info on most reptiles.

meagan