General Care Discussion :: Dose my turtles shell look healthy?

[Spike 7.62]

I don't think any of my RES scutes are loose enough to take them off my self so i guess it's time to play the waiting game haha

Don't ever take the scutes off your turtle. If the reason isn't obvious enough, it's because the layer of shell underneath needs to grow fully before being exposed so it can protect your turtle. They will fall off when they are supposed to and you will find them at the bottom of your tank. I have a collection of scutes that I've netted out of my tank.

-Spike

PS
The word you wanted is "does", not "dose"; "dose" is like taking a dose of medicine. "Does my turtle's shell look healthy?" would have been correct. I see you do that a lot, and I'm not trying to pick on you but I saw you're a high school student. If you want good grades, pick up that spelling!

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

haha yeah i suck at spelling bad!!!
I always forgot to spell that as does spelling it as dose is a habit i must break.
But in my school i always type my stuff on word then write it

[untsmurf]

I'm not sure I would try to take them off if the "progress seems to have halted." It could be that the scute isn't ready to come off.

Scutes that are ready to come off often have some of the edges lifted and look loose. If you gently lifted an edge, it would pop off without any effort. If there's any resistance, leave it alone.

BTW, when my RES's scutes come off like I described above, there is no dried algae holding them on. It's more that the scute has loosen to the point that air has gotten under it in some places more than others.

When I said progress has halted, I should've been more specific. I was referring to a case like (i think it was) scripta elegans where her turtle had massive layers of scutes that were all partly shed but not completely off. She was able to pop most of them off with ease.

[steve]

From the looks of the shell, I do think Ranger grew a little too fast or was fed too much, but he looks good overall.

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Oh well i think allot of the turtles from petco are over fed and grew to fast cause they all looked like there scutes where separated at the end of their shell.
So is there anything i should do it get it back to normal?

[steve]

Just make sure you stick to the correct diet and basking routine.

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Okay but with the diet part he hates his vegetables i made him the jello shots and he rarely eats them he picks at them and then just leaves it alone. How can i feed him something with the vitamins that the vegetables have?

[steve]

Have you tried the veggie clip? If he's healthy and hungry, he will eventually eat his veggies. You just need to keep at it and don't give in.

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

I think i might try that out tomorrow i have a clip that has a magnet on it i'll put it on my tank with another magnet outside it to hold it hopefully he will eat it. And unhealthy turtles as in there shell or what other things?

[steve]

No, a veggie clip is a specific thing and only costs 2 or 3 bucks. Most clip magnets I've seen are pretty cheap, I would not use it in a tank.

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Do you have a picture/link of one? I have never seen one before

[Ranger The Red Ear Slider]

Also what's wrong with the idea of the clip i said?