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Hello.. our red ear, Shelly, has lived in her pond for 14 months. This is the first time she has shed her scutes. They are popping up on her shell when she is out basking in the sun. Should I leave her alone and let them drop off naturally. I read in a post on this subject awhile ago that it might be due to overfeeding. She is in a pond with 3 six inch gold fish. We feed them twice a day and everyone eats the same high quality turtle pellets and a few dried river shrimp. All food is gone within 5 minutes. Is that too much? I'm hoping that this is just a periodic condition. Thank you.

Yes. Just let them come off naturally. It won't happen all at once, so don't worry if there aren't instant results, steady progress will do. Overfeeding actually causes what's called pyramidding; it's completely different. Twice a day sounds like allot but it really depends on how much is being feed at each meal.

Yup, I agree with penelope. Sounds pretty normal, which is very good.

Thank you Steve and Penelope. Just wanted to be sure all was well. She is a very happy girl. And, I don't think we are overfeeding her due to her sharing meals with her 3 big fat goldfish friends.

Hello again.. just an update.

4 Scutes to go... It has been quite a process. Each piece has been sticking up on her back when she's out basking. She looks pretty ugly. We've started calling her Scutes McGee for the time being.

Hopefully she's done soon!

Great news!!! The old scutes are gone. She is back to her gorgeous self! One thing we have noticed this summer which is different from last. She is not wandering around the garden. We got her in May of 2012 and she was quite active most days. She also was laying eggs around the yard. This year, she likes to stay on the flagstones surrounding her pond to bask. We did trim a tree back to allow more sun on the pond, so maybe she doesn't feel the need to search out the sun each day. Any thoughts from anyone?

I think you're right and she's found her optimal spot.