Do Turtles Outgrow Their Shells? (With Pictures)

One of the most unique things about turtles is their shell. There are very few animals in the world that have anything similar. So misconceptions about them are quite common. But now we will put one of those misconceptions to rest.

Turtles don’t outgrow their shells. The shell is part of the exoskeleton, so it’s part of the turtle’s body, and it will grow at the same rate as the turtle.

Turtles will spend their entire life with the shell that they are born with. So if you notice anything wrong with the shell of your turtle-like a crack, or soft spots, it might be something really dangerous, and not a sign that your turtle is growing a new shell.

Now let’s go over some of the most common problems that turtles have with their shell, what you should do if you notice them and how to make sure that your turtle won’t ever have any problem with its shell.

Shell Problems

If you take good care of your turtle your turtle should have no shell problems, but sometimes due to things that are out of control it might happen, so it’s good to know what you should do. And the only proper thing to do is to go to the vet.

While I’ve dealt with some shell problems, I won’t recommend any kind of “treatment”. And I would advise you not to follow any kind of advice found online about treating shell problems. Most of those problems can put the life of your turtle in danger if not treated properly, so going to the vet is the only proper thing that you can do.

But instead I will cover some of the most problems, show you how they look, possible causes and how severe they might be.

Shell Cracks

Shell cracks can come in a huge variety of shapes and sizes. But no matter how big or how small they are just as dangerous. And going to the vet is still the right thing to do.

Depending on the size and the depth of the crack the shell might heal itself over time, with proper treatment. But even if that is not a possibility, a vet can usually find a way to patch up the shell.

As for why this happens, the most common cause is that something or somebody hit the turtle. But shells are not that fragile, and in some cases, the durability of the shell is decreased due to another problem, like pyramiding.

Pyramiding

Pyramiding is one of the most common shell problems that turtles end up having.

Pyramiding occurs mainly due to an improper diet that contains too many proteins. If a turtle eats too many proteins the shell will overgrow, but as shells can’t expand, they will grow in height.

Depending on how much the shell has grown this problem can be major or insignificant. Pyramiding won’t affect the health of a turtle immediately, but it will reduce the durability of the shell.

While you should still go see the vet, you should know that pyramiding can’t be treated, the only thing that can be done is to adjust the diet to make sure that the problem won’t get worse.

Shell Rot

Shell rot can be quite dangerous if it isn’t detected on time. In the pictures above you can see some small white spots on the shell, those are the early signs of shell rot.

Shell rot mainly appears due to poor water conditions, or a bad basking area.

Fortunately, most treatments are very inexpensive and easy to use. So if you notice strange white spots in the shell of your turtle go to the vet, it might be shell rot.

Soft Shell

Softshells can be extremely dangerous. While the name doesn’t exactly make it clear, the shell isn’t actually getting softer, it’s disappearing.

Those big white spots appear because the shell has gotten so thin that you can see the inside of the turtle.

So if you suspect that your turtle has a soft shell go to the vet immediately.

Shell Peeling

Shell peeling is actually not a problem, but it’s usually mistaken as one.

Turtles shed their scutes (the small scales that cover the top and bottom of the shell), for a few reasons, like to clean their shell from all the things that gathered on them, or when they grow.

This is not a problem, it’s something natural that happens as turtles grow.

If you want more details about shell peeling, and turtle shedding in general you can check out this article where you will find information on how to take care of your turtle when this happens, and more importantly what not to do: Do Turtles Shed? (+Beginner’s Care Guide with Pictures).

How to Help Your Turtle Have a Healthy Shell

As we established turtles won’t get a new shell if they break the one that they have, so it’s important to properly maintain the one that they have.

Fortunately making sure that your turtle has a healthy shell doesn’t require any extra effort from you, besides what you were already doing.

In order to maintain a healthy shell turtle basically need two things, a balanced diet with enough proteins and calcium, and a good basking area.

While the shell of a turtle looks very solid, it actually has a certain degree of flexibility to it, so it won’t break too easily. This flexibility comes from the proteins, calcium, and minerals that turtles get from their food. A healthy diet based mainly on pellets and the occasional snack consisting of fruit, vegetables, or dried insects, should offer a good balance. Just make sure that you don’t give your turtle too much protein which can cause pyramiding. And that you stay away from fruits and that stops the calcium from being assimilated.

If you want to know more about which fruits are good and which are bad for a turtle you should check out this article where I discuss the subject in more detail: Can Turtles Eat Fruits? (How Much, How Often + List)

In order for a turtle to assimilate all those vitamins and minerals that they get from their food, they will need a basking area. The basking area is usually a platform that sits above the water, which is lighted by a heat bulb and a UVB bulb. Turtles are cold-blooded animals, which means that they can’t generate their own body heat, so they have to rely on external factors, like a heat bulb.

Without those two bulbs, no turtle will be able to develop a healthy shell, so make sure that your turtle has access to a proper basking area. If you want more information about basking areas, check out my in-depth guide, here you will find exact temperatures, comparisons between all different types of bulbs, things to avoid, and a lot more: Guide for Lighting and Heating a Turtle Tank and Basking Area.

Final Thoughts

So turtles don’t outgrow their shell, it’s actually possible that what you might have thought to be a sign of shell change to be a problem like a crack, soft shell, or simply shell peeling.

I hope this article answered all of your questions, but if you still have unanswered questions you can always leave a comment in the comment section below and I will answer you as soon as possible.