Does his shell look normal?

[kailey lane]

I am just wondering if his shell is looking normal,hes my first turtle.I saved him from a neglectful home.If you want more info let me know.He had no uvb,no dock,no veggies before we saved him.anyway let me know if hes looking normal,he came to me looking this way.Is this pyramiding?. also heres for photos if you want to see thembeans photos

 

[ascott]

He looks remarkably well --especially considering his prior conditions. My question would be ...how long did the prior caregiver have the turtle...the reason I ask is....he does not look like a turtle that has always been in captivity???? His shell does have some abnormal growth on the scutes and he does have old damage...but all in all he appears good IMHO

 

[bikerchicspain]

His shell looks normal, although possibly a bit too dry.

He does seem to have a lump above the nuchal scute, he also looks pretty old.

Do you know how old he is and whist species?

Good of you to rescue him, we have a large number of people on here that do rescues, included myself.

Good luck.

 

[kailey lane]

Well they said they were sure he was born in captivity,he said he got it from his aunt which was a teacher that got them for her class,they said he was very small like a dollar coin in their hand when they got him.....im not sure were he originally came from,who knows lol.so how old he is is about how long they had him,i asked several times because i wanted to know and she said she doesn't remember...... how do you forget that lol.very odd but they said they have no idea.This poor guy could barely turn around in his previous home,who knows how long he was like that,they said he was in that tank from the day they got him,and i have no idea how fast turtles grow so i cat even estimate.

So if he was indoors his whole life what could the abnormal growth or damage be from ?

oh and @bikerchicspain he is a Florida red belly,he does bask for hours.Is it bad for him to be this dry? also he is only about 6inches and FRB get up to a 1ft from what i read so i hope he isnt that old.do you have a estimate?

 

[ascott]

Interesting for sure....if he is 6 inches I would imagine he could be anywhere from 6 to 8 years old (IMHO) they are known to get to 9 inches if male... He can have abnormal growth due to no way to pull himself out of the water completely to dry out which could have promoted some shell rot as well as if he had no UV rays that would have an affect on the shell...

Have you increased the size of his enclosure now that you have him? I would add additional water as they are great swimmers...maybe strive to give him a total tank size of near 100 gallons, if at all possible...he will also thrive with a water heater and water temps around 70-75ish as well as a basking light and uvb rays..they are actually family to the cooter vs slider....

He is lucky to have you come to his rescue

 

[kailey lane]

oh yes i would never leave him in that tiny tank.He is in a 75 gallon right now and thats until he gets a little bigger.it made me so happy to see him swim in a big tank for the first time and case his goldfish,i gave him as much water as possible and still give him basking room his water is at a good temp and he has a heat lamp and uvb lamp and a dock. I also got the repcal calcium powder.im pretty sure iv got it all down.i hope,if im missing anything let me know for sure.i want him to be happy.i had no idea he could be that old! how long do they live?

 

[ascott]

You are rocking his world now....good job and they can live up to 40 and maybe even longer...depending on the individual turtle and their care

 

[kailey lane]

oh that's great news,i was worried he was "old"but hes still young lol hopefully i can figure out what that bump is,do you think he has shell rot? if so how do i get rid of it?

also would you know why his nails curve the wrong way? heres the link to my first thread a few months ago about it.,there are pics
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-my-FRB-nails-curve-upwards#axzz1a4vCbm6d[/url]

 

[ascott]

I have absolutely no idea of what the bump was caused from....but it does not appear to be an active issue....his nails were likely turning up because of the way he was being housed...did he have deep water to relieve pressure from his feet or were they always against the bottom of the tank pushing himself along? also, mbd can do that weird growth thing...but his shell does not look like mbd is a major factor...however, if mbd was starting you will be able to counter the affects by your better care for him

I think that due to him not being able to pull himself up out of the water to dry off that algae would have give a prime spot for some shell rot to try to come through...but as I said, IMO, any damage spots appear to be healed and old damage

 

[kailey lane]

oh ok, this is a great relief not knowing some of his past has left me with some worry but im feeling better now and as for his last tank and how deep it was,i have a15 gallon next to me with a betta and just by looking at it i can tell he was probably always touching the ground at his old home,and it makes perfect sense now that you say that! im so thankful if it is mbd that he will still be able to recover,when i heard that the first time i was very scared i would loose him.is it normal for them eat their own poo lol?

Do you think his nails will always grow that way?

i cant thank you enough for the info and input!

 

[bikerchicspain]

His nails will most definately carry on growing in the same manner, as the root itself could be deformed after many years of neglect, but it should not be an issue, he should still be able to carry on with his normal routine.

Looking at your previous pics the roots are deformed on some of the nails. You have 2 solutions leave them as they are and cut them regulary or take him to a vet were they can sedate him and cut the nails so that they can grow in a normal direction although this is no guarentee and it will be painful as the vein and nerve will be cut, I would strongly advise against the last one, unless it is a health issue of some importance.

Looking more closely i would say hes about 9/10 but as Ascott said, determing age is quite difficult as there are alot of factors involved especially when considering the poor living conditions.

I have a customer that has got a false map tutle with paperwork and he is 14 years old but he is only about 8/10cm long.

But he is in good hands now. well done

 

[ascott]

LOL...they do this thing where they go by the poo and suck it in, usually you will see them spit back out....so not to worry....while a bit on the ewwww side...if all of their other needs are being met, should be aok.... as I said, I think that you have done a great thing and will enjoy this one for some years to come...after all, he has survived all of this time and now he seems to have been given and opportunity to live

 

[kailey lane]

@ascott- lol yes that is what he does.so im glad this is normal.

thank you,im so grateful i had a chance to save this little guy,hes a sweetheart.he will be with is for ever unless he outlives me lol.i never new how awesome turtles were until i brought him home and now im in love lol,that seems to be the case with all of my rescues.im so happy beans is looking good.

 

[ascott]

by the way....love his name

 

[kailey lane]

oh thanks! yeah it fits him well,his previous owner named him pistachio,i think beans is a upgrade lol.

 

[Kristina]

He does look a little rough, but nothing too serious. I do have to say something about the goldfish, however...

Not only are they very fatty and carry a lot of parasites, are high in copper sulfate, but they also contain an enzyme called thiaminase that blocks thiamine absorption in the predator. Over time, this deficiency can lead to neurological problems and even death.

Fathead minnows, AKA Rosy Reds, are also a danger for this reason. I would not under any circumstances keep goldfish in the same tank with any of my aquatic turtles. They will catch and eat them eventually. I buy chub minnows from the bait store for $1 a dozen to feed to my turtles.

 

[kailey lane]

Oh wow! i did not know this.well thankfully beans only ate one and then completely forgot they were there and ignored them so i took them out and put them in a different tank to be pets i will never give him a gold fish or minnow either now that you informed me,thank you Kristina!!!

 

[Kristina]

You are welcome. Not all minnows are bad - I buy bait minnows from the bait shop for $1 a dozen. So minnows are okay, just so long as they are not the "rosy reds" or fatheads. Minnows are actually good for them to chase, keeps them mentally sharp and gives them some good exercise

I wouldn't worry about the one that he ate, it takes a few before there start to be bad effects.

 

[kailey lane]

oh yes i should have specified ,i understood that you meant rosies,just didn't write it out right that is good to know. and the gold fish are actually pretty cool pets so i dont mind lol,they seem to live a longtime.from what iv researched most pet shops in my area only sell rosy reds and gold fish as feeders,so ill look for a bait shop.

 

[zesty_17]

i agree with clipping his nails if they are causing issues, i would caution though against sedation with turtles unless you have a great amount of trust in your turtle vet. Many reptiles don't do very well under sedation. It does look like some of the scutes are very thin, you can help (gently) pull them off so new scutes aren't binded during growth. Pay attention to the curved scutes, they usually come off easily, but sometimes you have to gently work at it, depending on how many layers there are. If they build up, it can become a major growth issue. good luck, glad you are caring for him