General Care Discussion :: Shedding difficulties

[Starchick]

We've had Hercules for over a year now, and about 4 or 5 months ago he went through a total shed, everything except his marginals. For some reason those just will not come off. It almost seems like they're fused to the lower layers of shell around the very edges. Especially in the front, there are probably 5 or 6 layers that all peel up when he basks, but they are extremely brittle and just crumble rather than pop off. In the back, he has a number of scutes places where most of the loose layer has broken off, so there's sort of a 'cap' covering the very tip of the scute, which will not come off. Does anyone know what to do about this? I know normally you're supposed to just let it happen in its own time, but we're also treating him for a recurring shell fungus, and I'm concerned about that being hidden between all these layers, and besides that, many of them have algae trapped beneath them which is just gross. I'm going to try to get him eating more vitamin E because I've heard that will help, but I wanted to know if anyone had any input!

[fluz2]

those marginal scutes seem to be the last to shed. it is not a good idea to try to peel off. you say your treating for some shell rot. what does the vet say about it. after awhile they usually will fall off.good luck

[Starchick]

It's not shell rot, it's a fungus. I'm treating that with SSD, which seems to be working fine except that the spots come back once in a while. I'm just concerned because my other painteds have each shed twice in the same time frame. I'm guessing that his marginals have not shed in a very long time, because of there being so many layers stuck on there.

[steve]

Yup, those marginals are tough to come off when there is more than one layer. With my RES, the marginals took forever since the ones on the carapace and the ones on the plastron only came off together. There are ways to help it come off, but that depends on the size of the turtle, health of the shell, etc. You say he has algae under them -- So they are in the process of coming off? If so, did I PM you before about "helping" those scutes?

[Starchick]

Yes you did, but I'm a little concerned about trying it due to how brittle they are, I wanted to know if there was anything else I should be doing first. They are peeling up, but are firmly stuck at the edges.

[steve]

It's good that you're being real observant. If Hercules is basking regularly, then that should really help a lot. How much give is there under the scutes that are shedding?

[SpotsMama]

My turtle had the same experience - those "end caps" were the last to come off. They were terribly thick when they did. I gently helped some of them come off and some came off on their own. Spot didn't shed for years then finally did when he had very good light to bask under, basked a lot where he completely dried off for hours every day (some dry docking too), and got an improved diet. He also had a fungus infection.

Vitamin e is supposed to be very helpful. Here are some foods that are relatively high in vitamin e. If Herc won't eat these, you might give him an occasional vitamin supplement containing vitamin e.

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

[Starchick]

The loose scutes peel up completely, right up to the very edge of the shell. That's why I say, it almost seems like they must be fused or something, it's as if there shouldn't be anything holding them on! He basks a lot, he usually goes up around 7 pm and basks for about 2 hours before the lights go out, then stays up there for the night. It's good to hear that others have dealt with similar issues. I'll push the vitamin E and see what happens!

[evlock]

Fred had the same thing happen. One day last week, when I was rinsing the dirt off of him after his afternoon outside basking time, I noticed they were finally gone. I guess all of that clambering over rocks and through the flowerbeds knocked them off or something. He never actually basks...it's more like a trek through the jungle.

[SpotsMama]

Spot's were like that too. The end caps lifted all around but seemed fused around the edge and I worried that they'd never come off. But they did!