Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recently got given an unwanted res, because I have some already, and this girl has a very thin shell which is quite lumpy not like my others. each section is quite raised, the shell is not exactly soft but just thin which makes it flex in your hand with a gentle squeeze. HELP how do I help this poor girl.

This sounds like Metabolic Bone Disease. It's caused from not getting enough calcium in the turtle's diet or it is not getting enough vitamin D3. Here's what you should do:

-Get a piece of chalk and disolve it in the water. [Not sidewalk chalk, but the kind teacher's use for chalkboards.]

-Make sure your turtle has one of those UVB lights. You can get the 16inch overhead lights [tube light] or the turtle's basking light can have UVB. [You can get basking lightbulbs from Petco for $7 that are ZooMed brand, it has a picture of an iguana on part of it. These have UVB light the turtle needs, you do not need the overhead lights when using one of these. The 75 watt lights work best.]

Hope this helps~

I would increase the calcium intake with a powered supplement like RepCal (not Reptocal, which contains phosphorous). To keep it on the pellets better, I would moisten them first, put on the powder and handfeed her if she will let you. I`d also give her the softened bones of fish like sardines and salmon (packed in water not oil and cleaning and rinsing them well before giving them to her). I`ve never heard of chalk in water (plaster of paris, yes, chalk no), but don`t think even if it is OK to do so she would get enough that way to make a difference. I`d also have cuttlebone in the tank in case she wants it.

As far as lighting, since you have turtles already you probably know this, but if you don`t go to http://www.tortoisetrust.org/articles/lighting.html and scroll down to the picture of the ZooMed lightbulb with the iguana on the front. This is what you do NOT want--it does not provide UVB rays. (The whole article is really good to learn about lighting.)

I`ve never heard of a UVB light costing $7.00--about the cheapest I`ve heard is the ESU UVB coil lamp for around $20.00. If the package doesn`t say UVB, don`t get it, even if it says it`s full spectrum.

If you can, I`d also take her outside for some unfiltered sunlight several times a week (the best for the UVB), as well as making sure she`s getting an otherwise balanced diet.

hey thanks for taking the time to reply to me. thanks again