General Care Discussion :: Shell Shedding

[rjfsnf]

How often do turtles shed their shell? How long does the process take and what does it look like? My 2 yr old RES has new lighter (almost metallic looking) areas on the edge of his shell, which I think is part of the process. Thanks for the information- want to make sure I'm taking good care of my buddies!

[megcornell]

The scutes can get air bubbles trapped in them which makes them look metallic, that is what you're seeing now.
It can take a while for a turtle to shed it's scutes depending on the lighting and its' diet. Feeding foods rich in vitamin E like apple peel and blueberries can help with shedding, as can access to a good UVB light.
Before the shedding is complete, some of the scutes may half peel back, and while they're tempting to just pluck off it's important to leave them attached-pulling them can damage the shell and hurt the turtle.
Adult turtles don't shed too often as they're not growing as fast as juveniles.

If you do a forum search for shedding you can probably pull up some good pictures of the different stages of shedding.

[chrisinva]

Does this look like shedding scutes? I'm not trying to hijack but I was wondering too...

Is my turtle too young to be shedding scutes?

[blackforces get you]

i think its too young. how long have you had it?. how many inches is it?

[chrisinva]

Less than 1.5 inches I got them in August...not sure of age

[SpotsMama]

He's pretty small - and very cute.

It does look pretty much like he's getting ready to shed. When you press gently on the light colored areas, do you see a little water squeeze out, like it was trapped underneath the top layer? Does it look like the edges of the scutes are starting to lift?

The seams between the scutes are pretty wide. That's a sign of rapid growth, which is usually caused by lots of food. Double check the amount you're feeding him according to the guidelines on this site. You don't want to starve him, of course, but too much food is as bad as too little. If you're not sure about the amount, let us know and we'll try to help.

[chrisinva]

I feed once a day about 6 baby repto min pellets

I can't feel anything when I press on it