Urgent Care :: Shedding Questions

[liberation nyc]

How big is your turtle? About 2 inches long.
How long have you had it? 3 months

What is the water temperature? 80/82
Are you using a water heater? yes
How much water is in there? About 7 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes
Are you using any filtration? Yes

What is the basking temperature? Guessing 85/90
Is there a basking light? Yes
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Plastic turtle dock
Is there a UVB light? Yes

What have you been trying to feed it? Reptomin Sticks
When was the last time your turtle ate? Daily, though the past few days not as much as usual. Normally they inhale their food!

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 10 gal
Is the tank near a window? 6 feet away, no direct sunlight
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? In living room, sort of

Have you read the Basic Care section? yes
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? yes

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?

I have two turtles. One turtle appears to be shedding but I'm unsure. His color isn't as 'rich' as the other turtle, more muted and his skin is shedding. I normally feed twice a day and they INHALE the food though the past few days they seem only mildly interested. Both are active, swimming, basking.

The one I think is shedding is more lazy than the other. I'm wondering if they are like snakes when they shed. Snakes dont want to be bothered and seem easily annoyed, more lethargic. I just want to rule out skin fungus.

Any help is greatly appreciated

[narcolepticbeesh]

im not too sure if they dont want to be bothered, but the shedding that is happening is normal.

[cam722]

It looks like normal shedding to me. As for the coloring.. each turtle has it's own coloring/markings. You may want to turn your temp down a bit. Having the water temp too high can cause constant shedding. You also really should check the basking temp to make sure it's about 10 degrees warmer than the water temp. Water should be about 78 and basking about 88/90..

How much are you feeding them daily? If they get overfed on a regular basis, they may not want to eat. Just a possibility.

[marisa]

Those wisps of skin are normal. My turtles' behavior doesn't change while they're shedding.

Turtles don't shed like snakes--it shouldn't be heavy and it shouldn't be prolonged.

[liberation nyc]

Thank you so much. I'll turn don the heater a bit and see if that helps.

[SpotsMama]

Hi NYC,

I know you didn't ask about it, but I couldn't help but notice that you've got two 2 inch turtles in a 10 gallon tank (is that right?). They really need more space. The rule of thumb is that you should have 10 gallons of water for every one inch of turtle, which in your case would be a 40 gallon tank! And, since they are young and growing, before you know it you're going to need even more space.

You'll find it much easier to keep a large tank clean, and your turtles will be much happier as well as healthier - they love to swim and dive. Also, two turtles can be aggressive towards one another and hurt each other but more space MAY mitigate this tendency.

[flutterby]

pssst Spots Mama its 10 gals per inch of turtle But you got it right on the 40 gallons

[SpotsMama]

Mea Culpa! I should have proofread! I edited my post, and thanks for the catch.

[liberation nyc]

Hi there,

Yeah, I know the tank is a bit small but my NYC apartment is small so I have to figure out how to accomodate something bigger. Im still a bit concerned because they seem to keep their eyes closed more, and they seem a bit gray around the eyes. Of course this could be from the shedding. They have gotten a bit more active and basked a lot today. Im not sure what to do...

[steve]

Have you been feeding them anything else besides Reptomin? The don't normally shed skin around the eyes/face, but could it be that they are not basking as much? How often and how long do they bask for?

[liberation nyc]

The eye thing has me worried because they seem to do this weird, slow, blinking thing. But when they are out of the water, they look fine.

They bask every day, for about 5, 6 hours at least. (They're so cute

Would it be better for them if I put them in another container without water where they could bask for the afternoon and totally dry out?

[marisa]

If they're basking that long every day, they don't need to be dry tanked. They should have a basking area where they can get out of the water and totally dry off. Do they not have that?

[liberation nyc]

Yeah, they have that. Usually they get out of the water all the way, sometimes they're in half and half.