My russies have developed some shell abnormalities. It has happened so slowly that it took me a while to really see it because I see them everyday. I am sure you will all notice them right away. They have grown a lot in the past year. This winter their beaks began to overgrow and they have never done that in previous years. Also if you look at the shell pics you will see that there is a sort of 'divet' or deep crease between the scutes (that developed just recently). Also, in other pics you can see that their is what seems to me to be an abnormal amount of growth between scutes.
I need help! What am i doing wrong? They spend summers outside in the desert sun, in winter they have uva uvb lighting. I feed baby greens, romsjne (probably a bit too much romaine)'p, red and green leaf lettuce, carrots, and about once every 10 days i give pureed pumpkin with their vitamins and calcium supplements mixed in. I soak them 3 times per week (but their skin on their necks still is dry and peels).
Am i overfeeding? Feeding the wrong thing? Wrong supplements?
I know when you look at the pics you are going to wonder how the heck i did not notice this earlier and I hope I will not be too harshly criticized. My vet says they are getting too much to eat, but that is her only idea. They get checked every 6-8 months and she did not notice this shell issue at their previous visit. I feel terrible that I allowed this to occur, I thought I was doing everything as close to 'perfect' as possible.
Any help/info/advice is appreciated. These two girls are just 5 yrs old. I have had them for 2 years. They came from petsmart. If you notice the spine on her back - that was already there when I got her and has improved a good deal. The only thing that has changed with their shells is the space between the scutes. Last year we moved from iowa ( where they were indoors year around) to new mexico and, like i said, they spent the entire summer in the yard and then they have now been indoors all winter. Geography has been the only change this year, but this seems like a dietary issue?
I need help! What am i doing wrong? They spend summers outside in the desert sun, in winter they have uva uvb lighting. I feed baby greens, romsjne (probably a bit too much romaine)'p, red and green leaf lettuce, carrots, and about once every 10 days i give pureed pumpkin with their vitamins and calcium supplements mixed in. I soak them 3 times per week (but their skin on their necks still is dry and peels).
Am i overfeeding? Feeding the wrong thing? Wrong supplements?
I know when you look at the pics you are going to wonder how the heck i did not notice this earlier and I hope I will not be too harshly criticized. My vet says they are getting too much to eat, but that is her only idea. They get checked every 6-8 months and she did not notice this shell issue at their previous visit. I feel terrible that I allowed this to occur, I thought I was doing everything as close to 'perfect' as possible.
Any help/info/advice is appreciated. These two girls are just 5 yrs old. I have had them for 2 years. They came from petsmart. If you notice the spine on her back - that was already there when I got her and has improved a good deal. The only thing that has changed with their shells is the space between the scutes. Last year we moved from iowa ( where they were indoors year around) to new mexico and, like i said, they spent the entire summer in the yard and then they have now been indoors all winter. Geography has been the only change this year, but this seems like a dietary issue?
