whats with the dark black borders on the shell of my 4 months old red ear slider turtle?

Question

i have a 4 months old red ear slider turtle and lately it has developed dark black borders on its shell..it wasn't like this a month ago...is she suffering from any disease?

Answer 1

When red eared sliders are first born their shells are soft and bright or dark green. As they get older, their shells get harder and change color. Black markings are totally normal. If his shell has soft spots or he's not eating...then there might be a problem that a vet needs to check out.

Answer 2

As turtles age, they change colors. This is especially true of Red-ear Sliders, whjo start as colorful little things and end up as big adults with mostly dark shells.

http://www.redearslider.com or http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for more.

Answer 3

The black edges on the scutes (outer keratin layer) is normal. As they grow, they will shed their scutes and underneath the shell will be brighter. Over time, the overall shell with darken with age.

The black borders on the shell is consistent with its growth patterns. Unfortunately, it's not as pretty, but c'est la vie. Beauty is for the young. :)

One more piece of advice, for healthy shell, make sure your RES is getting a balanced diet of pellets, vegetable matter and live/frozen prey, as well as UV rays. The UV, especially, natural sunlight is best for their shell dvelopement and shedding. Good luck.

Cheers,
JJ :)

Answer 4

wu_gwei21 knows alot about these guys!! Well so do I but he said it all!! I won't take his credit... Your welcome wu_gwei21

Oh by the way wu_gwei21 my turtle eggs are done...They arent fertilized.......no dark in the shells

Answer 5

your turtle need a check-up at the vet.

Answer 6

what have you been feeding her? does her shell feel hard or soft. do you take her out to bask? email me to answer those questions. i can figure it out but i need those questions answered.