Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi I just got my first ally it is about 3 inches long (nose to tail) and about 1 and 3/4inches across. I got it home on fri. within 5 min. it was trying to lure some of the guppies that I put in with it to eat them wich i was happy to see.
My question is are they supposed to have a kinda soft shell when they are small or is something wrong with it. its not squishey or anything it just doesn't seem to be as hard as i am use to felling on other turtles i have found outside.

thank you,

yes, they do often have a softer shell when they are younger and it will harden over time. You do not want it to be too squishy and you can use something like a calcium/vitamin block to prevent this.

Michael
Michael's Place

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Thankyou for the info.if the shell was squishy I wouldn't have gotten it. It was just a little softer than I expected.

Thanks again
Joel
ps. what are some favorite foods of the baby allys out there so I can make mine happy?

You can feed reptomin or other pellet foods, guppies, ghost shrimp, beefheart, little pieces of cooked chicken, veggies(if they will eat it) other plants... I mean they are garbage disposals but be careful they will eat it even if its bad for them.

While things such as chicken livers and beef heart are good food sources, I would also recommend as many *whole items* as you can offer, such as minnows.

GUTS, baby! The nutrition is in the guts!