Pet turtle ( tortoise) shell is curling at the edges, what is wrong?

Question

okay its my friends turtle ( tortoise its not in water its in a dry aquarium) she got it all set up right from the pet store.

but says it doesnt look right.
Seems to have a loss in appetite ( feeds it meal worms) occasionally lettuce , that it doesnt like.
its only like 2-3 inches big and shes had it for 3 months.

Please do you have some advice.

also it has a water dish it climbs in and she keeps it changed so its clean.

Answer 1

I suspect it is a box turtle... which is a land turtle that cannot swim, but not classified a tortoise though. Box turtles are very popular and they have a hinged plastron (bottom shell) where it can completely close up so you cannnot see the limbs.

Here are some pics in a gallery from ATP:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/world_of_turtles/index-2.html

The majority of tortoises are vegetarian and they got nuts for lettuce (which is not good for tortoises b/c it does not contain enough ruffage nor nutrients). Some tortoises will eat insects and protein, but box turtles eat a lot of insects.

I will assume you have a box turtle. If my guess is incorrect, send me pics and I can ID it for you.

The reason the shell is curling is b/c it is not getting sufficient calcium and vitamin D. Mealworms are not very nutritious and have a negative Ca:P ratio (not enough calcium in diet). You need to dust it with a reptile mineral/vitamin supplement and vary the diet. Feed it crickets, earthworms, and snails (with shell). As well, provide plenty of rippened fruit (berries, melons and bananas). It's best to get it eating pellets. To do this, always keep a couple in the tank in the feeding dish. It will nibble on it eventually.

Proving artificial UV light is good, but best to bring it outside once or twice a week to get natural sunlight. You need one end of the tank warm at 90F, which can be achieved with a 75-100 watt bulb in the day time. It's OK to cool the tank down to room temp. Also provide a cave or substrate where it can dig and hide. In fact, hatchlings and yearlings, that is what you have, need to hide to feel safe or else they are stressed and mayget sick. Or show shyness.

Here is a boxie caresheet:
http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/cs-easternboxie.htm

If it is not a common box turtle, it still needs UV light and curling shell is an indication it is not getting the right foods.

Answer 2

Does he have a heat lamp? It needs to be a UV heat lamp, and she needs to buy calcium powder from the pet shop and dust the meal worms in it. Their shells will curl when they are not getting enough calcium. Also, the lettuce needs to be romane, not iceburg, because iceburg dosnt have enough nutrients in it, It is basically water and fiber. and she can also feed him other veggies, and even boiled eggs (shelled) to make sure he is getting all of the vitamins and minerals he needs. (not spinach. It is too high in iron, and makes it hard for the turtle to absorb calcium) But because he is a baby, right now he will prefer protien foods like crickets and mealworms, which is fine. He will develop a taste for veggies as he gets older. The trick is to keep offering the veggies to him.

but because he is lethargic, she may want to take him to the vet in order to make sure he dosnt have an upper respiratory infection or some other problem.

I have found petshops to be very bad about giving out misinformation about turtles and reptiles in general. Usually the setups the reccomend are all wrong. She should check out the forum at the url provided as one of my sources.

Answer 3

to answer I'd need to know what kind of turtle it is? And if she got it at a big branch store they never know crap about what they sell her best bet is to take it into a small pet store nearby and see what they think. I work at a small pet store and we see people come in all the time with a set up totally different then what they should have because someone at petsmart told them that was right.

Answer 4

i have a tutle and it is just getten used to the new environment