General Care Discussion :: My turtle has retained scutes!

Taking care of your turtle's overall health.

Post Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:35 pm   My turtle has retained scutes!

I have a uvb and bulb set up. It chills there every day for hours, but just wont shed quickly. A lot of the top layer is at least 1/2 falling off. Anyway to speed up the process?

Everyone puts pics of their turtles in the photo gallery and they r so colorful. my res is brown with lots of old layers :(
User avatar
Meta
 
Posts: 142
Joined: Jan 11, 2009
Location: Pennsylvania

Post Posted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 10:54 pm   

it just takes awhile for them to shed sometimes. whatever you do dont pull any scutes off. just let them fall off. you can offer some foods high in vitamin e like blueberries or apple skins but be careful how much you give since they have sugar
Horsepower is how fast you hit a wall. Torque is how far you move a wall

1.0.0 Red Ear Slider-Cujo
0.2.0 part Boston Terrier part Pugs-Hershey and Lilly
Daniel3507
 
Posts: 2152
Joined: Aug 18, 2007
Location: Oklahoma

Post Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 1:15 am   

Scutes are better left alone. I find that the proper temps help a great deal. Water at 77 to 78 and the basking at about 90 to 91 degrees are good. A proper diet with extra calcium is also helpful. It is like watching water boil!! Let them fall off naturally or you can cause some damage to his carapace and could cause an infection. b.
Bascomb
 
Posts: 386
Joined: Oct 28, 2007

Post Posted: Tue Jan 13, 2009 2:11 am   

Another good source of vitamin e is steamed sweet potato. I mention it because turtles love it so much. But high in sugar so have to limit it somewhat. Tomatoes also have some vitamin e.
SpotsMama
User avatar
SpotsMama
Retired Mod
 
Posts: 8079
Joined: Jun 7, 2006
Location: Mesquite Texas

Post Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 3:19 pm   

How long does it normally take for a turtle to shed his scutes? When should you start worrying that it is taking too long?

My guy has been in the process for a while now (over a month), but I just found this board and after reading advice, have installed a heater in his set-up and moved it to the window so he can get a little sun during the day (In addition to his UVB light). I've also tried giving him apple peels but he seems reluctant to eat them. He'll eat little apple chunks, though.
genamariep
 
Posts: 5
Joined: Jan 4, 2009

Post Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 3:51 pm   

(Feed Me) Seymore's scutes wont come off at all. I know he has several layers that wont come off and I know he basks for a long time every day. I cannot get him to eat anything but shrimp or pellets.

What can I do if he is such a picky eater?
2 cats - Indiana & Midnight
2 ferrets - Shakespeare & Shadow
1 RES - (Feed Me) Seymore

RIP - Misfit & Mayhem (ferrets) We miss you!!
Pogofiend
 
Posts: 4
Joined: Jan 14, 2009
Location: Spokane Valley

Post Posted: Wed Jan 14, 2009 7:54 pm   

If he's otherwise healthy, hold off on the pellets and shrimp for a few days and only offer veggies. He'll get hungry enough to try them sooner or later. You can also try zoologist's jello shot recipe, it's been a big hit with picky turtles. Quit feeding the shrimp entirely, they're very high in protien and don't offer much nutition otherwise.
Adrienne!
2.0 RES: Turtley and Samson
1.0 Lutino Cockatiel: Lilly
assorted fish, hermit crabs, bugs etc.
User avatar
octpusgirl8
Senior Member
 
Posts: 1836
Joined: Feb 21, 2007
Location: Baltimore MD

Post Posted: Thu Jan 15, 2009 3:47 am   

Yes, shrimp/krill should ONLY ONLY ONLY be offered as occasional "treats." I nearly killed my turtle by feeding him only shrimp. Stop with the shrimp. He won't starve. Switch immediately to a pellet/veggie diet or you'll cause permanent damage to your turtle.
1 male RES, Tank
2 female rats, Rosie and Vicki
1 male? tiger salamander, Hermie
1 female ball python, Cleo(patra)

www.jollygreenjane.com
www.flickr.com/photos/queenjane
www.youtube.com/profile?user=queenjane1234
queenjane
 
Posts: 262
Joined: Sep 7, 2008

Post Posted: Mon Jun 25, 2012 10:20 pm   Re: My turtle has retained scutes!

My red eared slider is retaining scutes too. I have only seen him shed once and its been 4 years since I bought him as a hatchling... Its getting really bad and his shell is all splotchy with white patches (not fuzzy or anything) it looks kind of like a splotchy bleach accident with little pinpricks and smears. Im not sure if its some sort of shell rot and it seems to be underneath the top layer of scutes as well. Can anyone help me?
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... G_5666.jpg
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... G_5656.jpg
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... G_5653.jpg

I always see picture of other red eared sliders with such nice smooth shells and I feel so guilty...
1 RES (Blue)
paige742698
 
Posts: 20
Joined: May 21, 2012
Location: Ontario, Canada
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 4:04 am   Re: My turtle has retained scutes!

It looks like fungus. What's your setup like?
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Tue Jun 26, 2012 5:15 pm   Re: My turtle has retained scutes!

You can also try Blueberries, they have been said to help with shell development. Also if the shell has some kind of fungus or algae growing in between them it be causing them to bond similar to glue. I've read you can use a soft bristle toothbrush to massage the areas and try to clean them to help the scutes release.
All I Want in Life is to be Happy!!
User avatar
Listen97
 
Posts: 396
Joined: Sep 3, 2008
Location: Falling Waters WV, US
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Wed Jun 27, 2012 1:02 pm   Re: My turtle has retained scutes!

Leave the scutes alone I made the mistake of peeling the scutes off my turtle when I first got him and it just prolonged his shedding and made his shell looks worse. Try blueberries as a small treat and some people say Wheat germ pellets help, I don't know if its all in my head but I noticed some scute lifting and loosening when I started giving ranger some.
Ranger- 13 year old Red Ear Slider
User avatar
Ranger The Red Ear Slider
 
Posts: 1212
Joined: Jun 18, 2010
Location: San Antonio
Gender: Male

Post Posted: Fri Jul 06, 2012 1:37 am   Re: My turtle has retained scutes!

My vet told me to 1. Dry dock a full 24hrs every week. 2. Use a toothbrush to "scrub" her and 3. I can elect to use olive or canola oil also on her shell. I know she looks 100% better to shed affter 1totthbrush bath!! Will try blueberries too. Sounds yummy.
Dawn
User avatar
dandj425
 
Posts: 51
Joined: Feb 15, 2011
Location: MA
Gender: Female

Post Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2020 1:51 pm   Re: My turtle has retained scutes!

Ranger, when you say Wheat Germ Pellets, are these the ones that are given to Koi?
Tibbles
 
Posts: 2
Joined: Jan 5, 2020

Post Posted: Sun Jan 05, 2020 11:37 pm   Re: My turtle has retained scutes!

I'm not him and this is an old thread, but yes... the Koi pellets.
User avatar
steve
Site Admin
 
Posts: 31430
Joined: Apr 11, 2005
Location: New York, NY
Gender: Male


Return to General Care Discussion

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: No registered users and 34 guests