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FAQs About Red Ear Slider (RES) Turtle Disease/Health 4

My Red Eared Sliders!!!! Shell concerns, nutrition 8/11/08
Hey!!
<HIYA!!!!!!!>
I'm Priscilla from NY and I have some concerns about my Red Eared Sliders. I have 2 and they were bought at the same time. They were pretty much the same size. However, after I started taking care of them, I found out that one of my turtles, grew a LOT bigger in a short period of time, while the other, grew slowly. I realize that on the website, the bigger turtle may be a female, but I'm not sure yet.
<Probably not that reason, Pricilla. Some people claim that females grow a tiny bit faster than males while juveniles, females mainly get bigger because they keep growing. It's too early to tell their sexes.>
One of the concerns is that I think my turtles are fighting to get food, and usually, the bigger one gets all the food.
<that's more likely. In any group, even a group of only two, there is some competition for food and other resources and one animal will become more successful. Even in situations where there is plenty of basking areas, food and other resources, the dominant animal will simply thrive better than the other, if only by a little bit. Slightly brighter, slightly bigger ... just .... better.>
<Sometimes it's tricky to solve the feeding problem. If you simply add so much food that the big one gets full and swims off, there's usually so much food that the water fouls. After you start feeding and the big one is eating, use a net handle or a pencil and nudge the little guy over to a different corner where you have just dropped a few pellets of food. Sometimes I've even removed a smaller animal to a shallow bowl of water for a private feeding once every week or so. If you see that he gets a really good meal every once in a while he's usually equipped to compete well enough on his own the rest of the time.>
The bigger turtle has a more vibrant-colored shell than the smaller turtle. It has a dull shell. My biggest concern is that I find that my turtles' shells look like they're shedding, but they're not they're basically bits of the shell that look clearish-whitish. It doesn't smell any way it shouldn't smell. I understand that the bigger turtle's shell looks like that because its growing, and shedding a lot of skin, so it's only natural. But the little turtle... I don't understand. Is it shell rot?
<From here it looks like normal shedding. The SKIN comes off as very small gray bits and usually the pieces are too small to notice. When shreds of skin are visibly hanging off of a turtle it's usually a sign of water quality and fungal problems. The shell scutes (pronounced skoots) come off as thin, transparent to translucent chips -- sometimes the full size of each scute and sometimes smaller. This is normal growth. Just before the scute comes off, it turns dull and starts to wrinkle, which is exactly what your picture shows.>
Or is it not getting enough food? Does it need vitamins?
<If they're getting good basking temperatures (about 90f+), unfiltered UV A & B lighting, clean water and high quality Koi Pellets or Repto-Min food sticks then no, you don't need to supplement their diet. As far as getting enough food, with just a little extra effort on your part you can see to it that the little guy is doing well enough to hold his own. I'll toss in a link below>
Thank you so much!!!
<You are so welcome>
Priscilla
<Darrel>
< http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm >
<******************************************************************>
<************** SOAP BOX ALERT **********************************>
<**** This is America where everyone is entitled to my opinion!!! ************>
<I get asked my opinion on food supplements all the time and my answer is always NO!. And then yes. Let me explain.>
<When a diet is deficient in vitamins the first thought and often the choice -- is to supplement with vitamins. The problem with that is ... that the diet is STILL deficient in vitamins! If the animal is not getting enough natural sunlight or concentrated enough UVA & UVB to synthesize Vitamin D, you can certainly give the D ... but after giving all the D in the world ... the environment is STILL DEFICIENT in UVA and UVB. You end up compensating for a problem instead of CORRECTING the problem. So what's the difference you ask? Easy to answer: If your diet is deficient in vitamins or nutrients then I guarantee you that it's too high in fat (or too low in fat) or too high in protein or too low in whatever else ... to be good for them in the first place. PLUS ... you're spending money on a diet that's improper and then spending MORE on supplements. >
<On the other hand ... when you solve the problems .. when you're giving a balanced diet in an environment with high water quality of the correct parameters, light & temperatures of the right types, degrees and variances .... then the supplements are no longer necessary!!!!>
<But then .. every once in a while, I add a few drops of supplements anyway> <<Extremely valuable input/reminders for humans and their own nutrition as well. RMF>>

Red Ear Slider, defecation 7/29/08
I have a red eared slider turtle at my house I had just feed him/her when I noticed that a black sack cam out of his bottom Im not sure what that is
<Likely just faeces. Aquatic reptiles produce very loose faeces compared with the sticky, uric acid-laden faeces you may be familiar with if you've kept terrestrial reptiles such as tortoises. Cheers, Neale>

Re: Red Ear Slider; health – 7/30/08
thank u for your response but I have a few more questions
<You are welcome. But the way to be nice to us is follow our rules for proper English: capital letters where they are normally put, "you" instead of "u", "I" instead of "I", and so on. We ask this from everyone, so others can read the site easily. It isn't because we're trying to be awkward.>
1.about the black sack I was talking about in came out of his/or her bottom and went back in I don't think it's feces.
<Indeed. Well, it could be a prolapse if something is hanging out for long periods. This would be extremely serious and will require immediate veterinarian attention. Sometimes male turtles will expose and retract their penis for no obvious reason. Males can be sexed by looking at their claws (which are very long) and the underside of the tail (the cloaca (or opening) on the male is closer to the tip of the tail than the base of the tail). Obviously if your turtle is a female, then this isn't a possibility.>
2. what are the signs of your turtle having eggs?
<How big is this animal? Females need to be fairly large before they start laying eggs. Moreover, you should see the female attempting to find a site on land to lay her eggs. She will need a bed of sand into which eggs can be placed. Egg binding in females is a not-uncommon problem. Untreated, it will lead to an agonising death. Please see here:
http://www.redearslider.com/reproduction.html
Cheers, Neale.>

Res Shell – 07/16/08
hi can u please check the picture and tell me what is the problem with my res? thanks
<Looks normal enough to me. Do bear in mind that old scutes (the "scales" that make up the shell) flake off as the animal grows. The shell also turns from bright green/yellow to more olive/brown. Shell problems come down to three things, so check you have them all fixed: First, the water needs to be clean. Dirty water promotes Shell Rot. Secondly, you need to provide a source of ultraviolet light (specifically UV-B). A standard "reptile basking lamp" will take care of this. Finally, you need to give your pet enough calcium in its diet. Dried turtle food on its own is NOT sufficient; you need to provide green foods (e.g., Elodea) plus calcium-rich unshelled invertebrates such as krill.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/turtshellrot.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/RESCareBarton.htm
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebIndex/resfdgfaqs.htm
If you're doing all these things, then your turtle will continue to remain in good health. If you're not... well, fix it!
Cheers, Neale.>

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