General Care Discussion :: Damage Control for an Overfed Turtle?

[penelope]

Penelope shed all her scutes in August/September, leaving a very thin white line around her shell. Well, now it's getting wider (about an 1/8 inch). The feel is best described as being like dry caulking. As for the scutes themselves, they are fine. However, in between them, little slivers lift up, then fall off.

My bigger concern is her shedding. She has been shedding like crazy around her neck, arms and legs; and it is not getting any better. Sometimes she sheds pieces up to 1/2 inch long/around. It is definately skin, not fungus, I can see the "skin pattern" on them.

Overfeeding is an assumption based upon process of elimination and what I have seen and read on this site. From what I've read and seen, there is one thing in common with each item I described: either overfeeding or growing too fast. Of course there are other potential causes, but they don't send big red lights flashing in my head.

I've been feeding Penelope ReptoMin daily - I try to shoot for the size of her head, but I think my perception is off. She was completely refusing vegies, but I got her to start eating some cucumber by soaking it in "pellet soup". She won't touch anything else (except the occasional minnow).
I've started soaking a couple of pellets in cod liver oil and feeding her a couple every few days.

Just in case, here are her living environment stats:
Water (all 4 corners) 78-80 degrees
Basking Area 85-90 (she only comes out of the water half way if it's 85; she'll come out all the way and hang out all day if it's 90.
Nitrite - .1; Ammonia - 0; Ph 6.6
She's fed in a separate tank & hangs out until she poops

Now, back to the million dollar question:
Let's assume I start feeding Penelope less pellets, less often (every other day or two), and toss in cucumber on the "off" days
What else do I need - or can - I do to help remedy the results of overfeeding/growing too fast?
Is it something that will simply balance out in time?

I'm going to closely watch the shedding. If it continues after a diet change I'll take her to the vet. But for now, I'll see what happens. Any ideas on how long it may take to start recovering?

I have pictures up the kazoo, but thought I'd hold off on posting them for now.

As a side note: Penelope is getting all grumpy lately. I've been hand-feeding her for months, now she's taken the past three feedings as opportunities to bite me - eight times! I'll chalk up one or two to accidents, but eight? hmmmm.

[erinemcgreevy]

How old is Penelope? If she is still a baby she should be fed pellets every day. Have you tried getting her an aquatic plant? She could nibble on the plant at her leisure and my turts seem to prefer the plants to the greens. I would definitely keep the basking area around 90 to encourage her to bask. I think the basking would help with the shedding also.

[RunninWideOpen]

How big is she? If 3-4" or bigger, start feeding that amount every other day. It sounds like the amount your feeding is good. As long as you're consciously estimating the amount to be about the size of her head, you're not giving her too much.

Excessive skin shedding is typically caused by high water temps, not over feeding. Are you sure your thermometer is accurate? Sometimes the stick-on-the-tank thermometers aren't accurate. If she's 3-4" or more, you can drop the water temps down to 76F.

[penelope]

Penelope is 6" ~ 5 months ago, when we took her to the vet, she was 4"
I use the glass thermometers that stick on the inside of the tank with a suction cup. Getting another wouldn't hurt just to be sure. Thanks for the idea.
I just turned her heater down a notch. That ought to bring it in the area of 76-78 degrees. Hopefully that will help with the shedding.
Now all I have to do is find out if she will "even-out" in size if I take extra care in her feeding

[RunninWideOpen]

let us know how it goes!

[industrial_girl_2000]

Dropping the water temp will DEFINITELY help with the shedding. I have a big girl (9 inch long slider) and she sheds quite a bit too. Keeping her water temp around 76 reduced the shedding a lot. Good luck & let us know how it goes.

[marisa]

Her diet sounds protein-heavy. Look at the feeding info for other foods you can give her.

How long have you been putting cod liver oil on the pellets? On the chance that she's getting more than you think you're giving her, if she's not deficient in Vit A, I'd do this less often---too much Vit A can cause skin shedding. A better alternative to meet her Vit A needs would be to include foods high in beta carotene in her diet (carrots, pumpkin, dandelions, squash, etc.). Her system will convert the beta carotene to Vit A when it needs it.

[penelope]

Well, I turned the heater down a notch last night; today her water is at "perfect" 76 degrees.

The cod liver oil is a very recent thing ~ 2 weeks or so. Probably, 10-15 pellets all-inclusive (2 or so every third day).

I've searched around the nutrition forum, and she stubbornly wouldn't eat any of the veggies listed. She will only eat cucumber (too bad it doesn't have much nutritional value). I think I'll try the carrot, pumpkin, etc. and shred them into micro-mini size pieces(?) Thanks for the advice ~ it's kinda funny, my son would only eat carrots and squash when he was a baby so that's what I gave him. He ate so much that he turned yellow...I promise I won't turn Penelope yellow - I just want her to stop growing so darn fast!

[marisa]

I have a friend whose daughter loved carrots and eventually turned yellowish as well from all the beta carotene. You might find Penelope's coloring brightening a bit if she starts eating foods with beta carotene in them, especially the yellow areas.

For the carrots, I make thin peels that kind of look like worms as they move around in the water. My RES grabs them and rips them apart with his claws. You might try lightly steaming the pumpkin and squash to help soften it before you cut it into small pieces. It would be easier for your turtle to bite.

[penelope]

Wow! I guess taking away all those turtle sticks has given Penelope a whole new outlook on life. My husband brought her a piece of lettuce last night (he thinks I'm starving her to death) and she gobbled it down like it was going out of style. Yipppeeee!!
First time that ever happened ~ she always spit it out or wouldn't touch it at all. I can't wait to see what she does with carrots.

Considering her seemingly newfound love of lettuce, are there limits on how much I can give her other than to cut back if she gets diarrhea? With that answered, I think I'm primed to sit back and see what happens over the next few weeks.

Thank you again, so much. I really appreciate it.

Today we are going shopping for Penelope's Christmas present - a 75 gallon tank (larger if we can afford it). I went on a shopping spree at Big Al's and ordered everything to support up to 100 gallons. But, that is a whole other story for a whole different forum. I'm just excited!

[marisa]

If you can find them at a supermarket or similar store, try dandelions.

[SpotsMama]

For a long time the only plant food my turtle would eat was fresh basil. It's easy to grow in a pot so you can always have some around. Spot still loves it better than anything else.

[kimberly183]

Hi, Penelope -

I know this is kind of an old posting, but I hope you don't mind my two cents.

Dole has pre-shredded carrots in the produce section . . . they are very convenient! They are about $1.50 a bag and are more like matchsticks than shavings - and about 3/4" long. Ru and Sara like them because when caught in the cross current, the carrots shoot from one end of the tank to the other. I think the turts think they are minnows and chase them! They LOVE them!

Try turnip greens, too - our guys can't get enough. Sara will grab one with her front legs, pull it under the water, and kick with her back legs to shred it while munching, too. Then, she scurries around the tank chasing the little shreds she made. MESSY GIRL! Red leaf lettuce is a big hit, too! And peeled grapes - those are a once a week treat because it's really the only time they fight! I learned to cut them into strips - I get globe grapes - or else the piggies try to eat the whole chunk at once.

Ru resisted all fresh food at first (except tuna) but now he can't get enough.

(Brief history of Baruch and Sara: they were NEVER given any fresh veggies by their previous owner - only Reptomin. We rescued them about 5 weeks ago and they are almost completely on greens and veggie now - with pellets every other day, a little poached egg white once a week for Sunday breakfast, and a tiny bit of tuna here and there.)

Good luck!