Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have a painted turtle that was rescued from my mother's pool over the summer. At the time it was probably no bigger than a 50 cent piece. I have it in an aquarium with a filter, water heater, a basking area and a lamp. Most of the time it likes to sit on the heater because it is one of the kinds that has the protective tube around it so the turtles do not get burned. It has grown quite a bit in the past month or so and now barely fits on the heater. Part of it hangs off. I noticed that the bottom shell is curving like it is shaping itself to the heater. I am not sure what to do. Should I take the heater out? Will the shell stay like this? Any help is appreciated.

I have a similar problem, mine liked to sit on the heater and wasn't basking like he should have been, so I removed the heater which forced him to get out of the water onto the rocks to bask, becasue his shell looks as if it curves up and it seems soft on the sides where maybe the water was hitting. I'm hoping that works and I'm now setting up a better terrarium for him.