General Care Discussion :: Helping Shedding

[KatieSmeltzer]

Is there anything that you can do for a turtle to help it along when it sheds its skin?

[theartbook35]

Not really.

They'll rub their faces or swing their legs to knock loose skin off, or rub against things in their tank.

As far as scutes are concerned, you have to let them come off completely on their own. Some people have been known to "shuck" scutes, which is a very bad idea. Peeling off scutes that are still attached damages the new scute underneath.

[TheComputerGremlin]

There are two things you can feed to help out shedding, and the other important thing is a good basking area with a nice warm bulb and new UVB. The two foods, cuttlebone, basically as much as Filbert wants to eat. And the second, blueberries, for a 1.5" turtle, I'd say 1-2 blueberries every two weeks should be fine.

However, a 1.5" turtle doesn't need to shed. You have to let nature take it's course with scutes. My turtle is almost 6" and she has yet to shed a single one. She's not retaining them, per se, she's just not ready to let them go.

Oh, and if it's just skin shedding, check your water temps. If the water is too warm, it will cause the skin to shed excessively. Check what your temp is, and it should be 76-78 for a 1.5" turtle. If it's at 78 and the shedding is really bad, try lowering it to 76 degrees and give about 2 weeks to see improvement.

[KatieSmeltzer]

I did have a problem with the water temp getting too warm. My thermometers read 80*F! I turned the heater off and it did drop down to normal range. It's just driving me insane that he's shedding so badly! I do admit that I don't have a UVB bulb yet... but I am getting one today!

[KatieSmeltzer]

I saw at the local pet store two bottles of "shedding aid." One looked to be more for snakes/lizards because it was just a spray bottle. The other one didn't specify what kinds of reptiles/amphibians to use it on, but it did say to add it to water and "soak" your pet.

Any input???

[TheComputerGremlin]

I think the general opinion you'll get on this board is to let nature take it's course. I don't know if anyone has used either of those, but if you use the Search function on the board with the actual name of the product, you might get some hits.

[theartbook35]

I saw at the local pet store two bottles of "shedding aid." One looked to be more for snakes/lizards because it was just a spray bottle. The other one didn't specify what kinds of reptiles/amphibians to use it on, but it did say to add it to water and "soak" your pet.

Any input???

If it doesn't say it's for turtles, I seriously wouldn't use it.

Like Gremlin said, let nature handle it.

Shedding is a slow process naturally, so, just be patient.