Oh my gosh! Painteds, you were so right!!! Went to do a water change today, and Frankie was up on the basking area. Thought it wouldn't hurt to give the scutes a tug again while she was nice and dry. Pulled with just a bit of pressure on one of the worst ones, and it came off with a *pop*!
Well, I just went to town after that! Frankie didn't seem too keen on it, but she didn't jump back in the water, so it can't have been that bad. Most of the worst ones came off whole. A few only pieces came off, and some were still quite stubborn, but more than 50% of the old scutes came off!
And the scutes underneath look healthy and were hard!
I took a soft tooth brush and gently scrubbed the new scutes with a bit of fresh, warm water.
And now, without further ado, pics of Frankie's beautiful new shell!
You can see in this pic how it's really evened her shell out. She used to have big spikey scutes, particularly the two marginals closest to her neck, and along the back.
Also, you can see how the shell is less spiky at the back, when you compare the right side to the left.
This shows one of the ones where only half the scute came off. But I figure now the "new" edges of this one will start to dry and lift, and maybe they'll come off soon without too much fuss.
And this is her with the pile of scutes I took off.
When I put her back in the water, she looked kind of confused for a few minutes... I think she was feeling the water on the new scutes, and it felt different.
Then after her usual shrimp treat, she went and itched those new scutes for 5 minutes at least!
Painteds, Frankie and I owe you a huge THANK YOU!
Though there are pieces here and there that have come off, none of the major ones have shed...
