Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have three young spiny softshells, all with a carapiece length of about 3 inches. Their shells are all in porportion but the edges of the carapiece are curling up. I've raised Florida Softshells on the same diet (Reptomin Turtle Sticks) so I'm pretty sure that is not the cause for the Spiny's shell problem. The Spiny's are in a 72 gallon tank with an Ehiem canister filter and UV sterilizer. The water temp is around 75 degrees F. There is a UVB light on the tank (although I read that it is not necessary for softshells). What is even more peculiar to me is that I have six Musk Turtles in the tank as well and they have no shell deformities.

If anyone can help or point me in the right direction my turtles and I would be much obliged.

Thanks,

BK

by no means am i an expert on turtles but i have raised and bred many types over the years. it is my belief that maybe you are feeding it too well!!! what i mean is that the softies body is growing faster then the shell and its putting pressure on the plastron and causing the sides to bulge upward. maybe the diet has too much protein and not enough of another mineral or something like that. maybe try limiting its diet a little just try checking with a good herp vet and see what they say
one other thing i thought might be a problem is maybe the uvb light is causing the shell to harden somewhat maybe try putting the softies in another tank with out the uvb and see if it corrects itself.
i know that with hard shelled turtles the shell will curl if they are not getting enough calcium so maybe that is the cause but i am not sure how calcium correlates with the growth in softies.
adam
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0.2 normal leo geckos
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Thank you very much for your response. I thought the UVB might be the cause of it ~ it makes sense. Although softshells like to bask once in awhile they spend most of their time submerged and not exposed to high concentrations of UVB. I removed the UVB light to see if that helps the turtle’s carapace reform. I'll also confer with my vet to check on their diet.

Thanks again,

BK

Sorry but thats incorrect. Softshells should be fed whole prey items. Fish, pinkies, worms etc. You can feed reptomin as well but it shouldn't make up the bulk of the diet. As long as the turtle has the temperatures it needs to utilize the diet correctly there should be no problems. I've raised many species of turtles including spiny's from hatchlings to adults without any problem and without benefit of any special UV as long as they were given adequate temperatures and a proper diet. Try feeding them minnows, worms, pinkies etc. and i think you'll find you are much more successful. Also mixing softies with hard shelled turtles is not a good idea. Too many chances for the softies to get a chunk taken out of them. Also, as they get larger the softies may turn on each other, so housing them seperately may be the only option. A 75 gallon tank is OK for now, but if you have any females you'll find you'll need something at least 120 gallons for a single specimen. My female spiny is HUGE. 13 inch carapace length. I tried putting a male in with her once but she killed him the first night. Anyway, best of luck. They are a rewarding species if kept properly. My female is in a 200 galln aquariom And she will actually stand up on her hind legs looking for handouts when I go near her tank. A real personality as far as turtles go.

Thanks for your advice. I'll change up their diet ASAP.

BK

Hi, I have a florida softshell that has this. I also feed mine reptomin sticks. but i started feeding mine live fish once in a while and as it gets bigger its starting to go back to normal. hope this helps.

Thanks for everyones advice. Changes have been made to help reverse their carapace problems. I will post monthly updates on their condition.

Thanks again.

Sincerely,

Brian Kleinman
Owner/Operator
Riverside Reptiles
www.riversidereptiles.com

I've seen similar deformities in both a western painted & a RES.
Both of them had been fed nothing but pellet diet all their lives so when I saw this photo it made me wonder if too much of the pellet diet is the problem.
Please do post updates, it would be interesting to know if diet changes fix this problem.
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PHRatz