Urgent Care :: New turtle owner w/ a shell question.

[thginknodnarb]

We bought our son a turtle for his birthday. We have never owned one before so this is a new adventure. We have only had him for about a month and his shell is looking a little weird and is starting to peel at the back. The attached photo isn't very good, but thought it might help. From what I've read on the forum it looks like we have been feeding him to many pellets, but wasn't sure if that accounts for the peeling or if this is normal peeling. Any input would be awesome. Thanks.

[steve]

His scutes are a bit retained from his fast growth. Definitely cut down (when in doubt, go with less food) but hopefully the shedding goes smoothly. Don't force any scutes off, they should come off when they're ready. You might also want to remove the gravel/small rocks in the tank.

[thginknodnarb]

Steve,

So the small rocks is a bad thing? Should there be anything in the bottom of the tank?

Thanks.
Brandon.

[slider_keeper]

Yeah, the small rocks can get eaten and stuck in your turtle causing major issues, even death. You can have a bare bottom tank, but it is very plain and easy to clean. Or you can use large river rocks but they cause a mess as debris get caught under and around them. The most popular substrate is sand. It's easy to keep clean and looks very natural.

[penelope]

Yeah... Bare bottom, river rocks, and sand are good. It all depends on your taste. River rocks are harder to keep clean cuz the gunk falls between the cracks.
I have had bare bottom tanks and sand. The jury is still out on which I like better.

[thginknodnarb]

Thanks for all the help.

Brandon.