General Care Discussion :: Retained scutes

[Cim*Forever]

Hey guys,

I don't know if anyone remembers, but I took Rossco to the vet some months ago because I thought he might have had shell fungus. The vet said it wasn't fungus and that it was just retained scutes, so he took a dremel tool to his back (so didn't enjoy this bit of knowledge) and sanded off the scutes. The issue now is that he has MORE retained scutes, and I don't know what to do.

He has a uvb light, heat light, basking dock, correct temps, cuttle bone, and a good diet. Iv tried him with apple peels and he doesn't like that, but he tolerates carrots.

Anyways, I don't know what to do anymore. Any ideas please?

Thanks a lot guys.

[Nettle]

I CAN'T BELIEVE A VET TOOK A DREMEL TO A TURTLE'S SHELL!!! I mean they have feeling in their shell!! I'm shocked.

Well to address your problem, there really isn't anything anyone can do except make sure his diet is balanced and he has a proper basking area. Usually retained scutes happen when a turtle is growing too fast for his scutes to keep up.

Do you think you could post some pictures of him (dry) and his basking area?

[SpotsMama]

Does he make good use of his basking area?

The kind of UVB light makes a big difference with some turtles. When I switched Spot to a T Rex MVB his basking time tripled. Good basking time under a good light is very helpful to his shell. In fact, if you can let him spend some time out of doors in the natural sun, it will be even better. Spot will shed some when he's inside in his aquarium basking under the T Rex, but he sheds better during the summer when he's outside in his pond getting natural sun.

Just be sure when he's outside that he's safe - no risk of overheating, ant bites, dog bites, escaping. You'll have to watch him every minute unless he's in a good container (with no chance of overheating).

Here are foods containing vitamin e, which helps with the shedding. If he won't eat apple peel, try some of the others. Sweet potato is especially good for a variety of reasons - just don't overdo it as it is also high in sugar. Spot goes nuts for a little steamed (to soften it) sweet potato every few weeks.

Can you post a picture of his shell when it is dry?

[marisa]

How many retained scutes does he have? Are there layers of them (a picture of a dry shell would be good to see).

How is he growing noticeably fast? If so, what are you feeding him, how much and how often?

How much does he bask? Does he have a good UVB light? Taking him outside for natural sunlight would be good for those scutes.

[Cim*Forever]

Hey guys,

Thank you for all the replies.
I will get pictures tomorrow hopefully

To address some of the questions asked:

The UVB bulb I use is a repti bulb 5.0 (I think). Im not sure how long or how often my turtle actually basks because he is a shy basker and doesn't enjoy having people around when he is basking. He has a lot of a lone time though, and I catch him basking when I come home/into his room.

I just upgraded his basking dock today to a larger size in hopes that if he had more room he might bask more regularly or something.

His diet consists of reptomin and warldey turtle pellets. He gets about 8 reptomin sticks (as theyre quite a bit larger then wardley) when I feed reptomin (I switch each day), and he gets about 15 wardley chunks. Give or take a few of course. He gets green lettuce almost everyday, somedays I rotate with cilantro. His favorite food is actually Bannanas. I give him a chunk about once a month. I offer him apple peels and carrots about once a week (he doesn't enjoy them and doesn't usually eat them) . He also gets cuttle bone regularly. I don't think he is growing fast, the lines in between his scutes aren't overly thick or anything.

The vet gave me vitamin E oil that I am supposed to rub on him once a week. Havn't really notice a difference with that though.

Regarding the out of doors issue.... It doesn't usually get very hot here, I live on an island in Canada, and we have very mild temperature swings. The hotest we have had thus far is about 25 degrees celsius. I thought that might not be warm enough to take him outside and bask in? The weather should get hotter through and into August and September though.

Sorry if I missed any bit of information, I will try to get some pictures tomorrow.

Thanks guys