I have a western painted turtle . She seems quite happy . But her undershell is getting kinda soft . She's got the right everything . She doesn't have trouble swimming , she's very active , and hasn't refused to eat . She's kinda a fat *** . No matter how much I give her it's gone in like 1 minute . And when I shake her food she comes swimming right to me . She seems completely and perfectly fine and happy . But her undershell is kinda soft , not insanely soft . But it is soft . I'm kinda scared . I've grown attached to her . And I don't understand what I am doing wrong , ANYONE PLEASE HELP ME :( her tank water is at a constant 78 degrees . She has basking bulbs that I leave on 8-9 hours a day . Her tank isn't boring , I've had her about 3 weeks now , and its been soft for about a week . About the same softness all week . Could it be maybe she's growing ?im really not sure , and I don't want to loose her ... All help is appreciated . Thank you
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Baby turtles have shells that are slightly flexible, but not actually "soft" to the touch. The shell gradually strengthens as the turtle grows, and should be fairly hard by 6 to 8 months of age.
To help her develop a strong shell and bones, make sure she's getting a good quality pellet food that contains calcium and vitamin D3, such as ReptoMin, as a staple diet. And she should have both a basking/heat bulb and a UVB bulb which aids in processing calcium.
It sounds like she is only growing, no need to worry! If you are still uncertain, then you can keep an eye out for strange white spots or a strange smell from her undersell (which is called a plastron, by the way). If you start to notice those things, then she might have a case of shell rot.