Habitat - Indoor :: shedding

[Ladywillowmoon]

My Turt seems to be shedding. I did turn down the temp in the tank, so hopefully it stops. But is there some way of getting the access skin off of her? I tried to pick her up and gently rub it, but she just hides in her shell when I touch her legs.
when it comes off it just kinda floats in that water and I try to scoop it off with a fish net.
Any Ideas?
Thanks!
~*Lady*~

[tissigirl]

I have the same problem. the vet says it is totally normal. Unfortunately I haven't found a good way to expedite the process either. You basically just have to let it take it's course. I've found that the skin gets stuck around the sponges in my filter, so you may want to check them a little more often and rinse it off.

But don't worry, your turtle is fine

[STRAYKINGFISHER]

If she has scutes that are still attached, don't pull on them, you will only be hurting her, let them come off by themselves, was she shedding excessively??

[therizman1]

How often are turtles supposed to shed?

[Ladywillowmoon]

It not the scutes that are shedding. It's her skin around her legs and neck.
To me, at least, it seems kind of excessive.
Would that have anything to do witht he PH balance of the tank? I just check it (after I cleaned it) and it seemed to be 7.8. Then I checked my water out of the faucet and it was 7.8.
Would this have any effect? If so, how can I fix it, and our water is hard so should we get a water softner?
I know that a bunch of questions, but I want to do what's best for Tardy.
Thanks!
~*Lady*~

[tissigirl]

Yes, I was talking about the turtles skin. Mine seemed excessive too. It is all over his neck and legs. My vet said that it is totally normal. Mine has been like that for over a month now and is finally slowing down. There's not much you can do about it except let it take it's course. It's nature doing it's thing. They are reptiles, and reptiles shed their skin. The turtle isn't suffering. So don't worry, your turtle is fine!!

[jenaero]

Check the water temp. Water that is too warm will cause excessive shedding. How old is he? Hatchlings need warmer water (78-80 degrees) but for a turt that's more than 6 months old keep it between 75-78. Mine are 10 months old and excessive shedding happens to them when the water is warmer than 75.

[Ladywillowmoon]

The water temp was about 78.
So I turned off the heater. Hopefully the temp inside the house doesn't get higher than that.
I was thinking that could be the problem.
Thanks for everything!
~*Lady*~

[marisa]

Turtles shed scutes and skin as they grow. The shedding skin shouldn't really be that excessive or prolonged, though. A too-high water temp is often the cause of shedding (warmth encourages growth encourages shedding), but I don't think a temp of 78F would be warm enough to cause the shedding you say you're turtle is doing. What's the temp of the basking area? Too warm and this can also cause shedding.

Some other possible causes of shedding could be overfeeding (causing growth again), certain medical conditions and medications, too much or too little vitamin A, and really high ammonia levels. In addition to the PH level, also check your ammonia level.

If the shedding continues, you also could try adding some aquarium salt to the tank. (About a teaspoon to 8-10 gallons of water.) This should help.