Posted: Wed Apr 15, 2009 5:26 pm
If your water is far above 80 degrees, plus a high basking temperature, then they can shed excessively, all the time. However, it is normal every few months for a turtle to do one big skin shed and stop, or do a tiny bit of shedding of skin here and there gradually.
If your turtle is shedding big amounts of skin without ever stopping, then the tank temperature needs to be lowered. 72 to 78 degrees is a fine temperature for both adults and hatchlings. Hatchlings like a 75 to 78 range a little more, but this is not a necessity. The basking area really should be ten degrees higher than the water temperature. Turtles don't really rely on an air temperature throughout the entire tank, just in the basking spot.
Phryne - Japanese bobtail, 11 y.o.
Hurricane - RES, approx. 19 y.o., 7.00in. long
Typhoon - RES hybrid, approx. 19 y.o., 8 in. long
Sadie - RES, approx. 30+ y.o., 11.5in. long
Sophie - Colombian red tail boa, 15 y.o., 5 ft. long
