All Turtles Message Board

hongxkongxmunkee · Level 1 Joined: 19 Dec 2005 Posts: 8

I have 2 RES - one male, one female. They're both happy and healthy and they get along pretty well...with the exception of the male always trying to impress the female to mate. (He always gets rejected...poor guy hahaha)

I had them for about 6 years now. I "saved" them for $6.00 at a tiny shop in Chinatown when they were about the size of a half dollar. They're now both about 6-7 inches long.

They both live in a 40 gallon tank with two filters running, a nice UV light, a heat light, and a floating dock for them to bask on. Once in a while, I also throw in a calcium block for them. I also give give them eyedrops every month.

I change the filter pads every other week, and I do a 80-90% water change every month. I use the water from the backyard, so its hard water (my filtration system only softens the water for the pipes running inside the house)

Every time I change the water, I give my turtles a little scrubbing on the shell with a soft toothbrush. Their shells are still very hard and they don't SEEM brittle. I've never handled a brittle-shelled turtle before, so I'm not sure.

Lately there seems to be a lot of white discoloration on their shells. For some reason, the female seems to have more of the white discoloration than the male. Then again, she's also bigger.

Their diet consists mainly of Reptomin pellets (they literally will not touch any other brand) and I give them some feeder fish every other month or so. I don't really feed them veggies much because its a hassle to clean up after the bits of veggies left behind.

I'm guessing that the white spots are calcium build-up, but I'm not 100% sure. I would like to know everyone else's input, so I can go about treating my RES the correct way.

Here are some pics of my RES so you can see the white stuff on their shells (quality isn't good cuz taken with my cell phone):

turtle_grl77 · Level 4 Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 985 Location: Florida

Hard to say, if the shell is not soft they should be ok. Just keep an eye on them. Also you should fill their diet with more than feeder fish and pellets. Feed the small pieces of strawberry, and other stuff. Also you can but cuttle bone, for birds, just take off the hard shell on the one side, this will give them the calcium they need.

deesygirl · Moderator Joined: 12 Sep 2002 Posts: 1232

Are the edges of the shell plates loose? It almost appears as if she is getting ready to shed.
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hongxkongxmunkee · Level 1 Joined: 19 Dec 2005 Posts: 8

the edges of the shell plates are not loose. I've tried giving my turtles some more fruits and veggies, but they hardly ever go for it. They're so carnivorous.... Mad