General Care Discussion :: Shell health opinion

[tonyandlala]

Hi all,
I was hoping I could get some feedback on Rocky & Bullwinkle's shells. They're both @ 2in. and @ 9 months and I haven't noticed any shedding yet.
First time using photobucket, hope it worked:

http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w43 ... y_Multari/

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Well they are starting to shed. The growth isnt the smoothest. The one really looks like the edge of its shell has a retained scutes. So lets start with the diet that these little guys are on? We need to change something.

[tonyandlala]

Repto pellets @ 5-6 a day, 1-2 blueberries @ 2-3x a week, occasional strawberry piece, occasional red leaf lettuce and have some rosy red minnows when they can catch them. Also have cuttlebone that they pick at quite a lot.

[michaelg]

I would cut back on the fruit, that's a lot of sugar. Turtles don't normally get fruit in the wild. The blueberries supposedly help with shedding, but 1 - 2 berries 2 - 3 times a week is a lot. I usually give 1 blueberry per turtle once a month.

I would reduce fruit to at most once a month and give as much red/green leaf lettuce as possible. My turtles prefer Romaine, but I only give them Romaine if I can't find red or green leaf. I try to give them 2 heads of lettuce per week. Generally one Red Leaf and one Green Leaf. I weigh one head of lettuce down so it resembles a water plant and wait for it to disappear, then I add another head. They go through 1 head every 3 or 4 days. I also try to keep duckweed in the pond, but they eat it pretty quickly and it is hard to keep up with the demand.

Back in April, there were 9 rosy red minnows in the pond. Now there are a good 100 or more of all sizes. From tiny little, barely visible fry to 2 inch long adults. Apparently, the turtles don't eat them.

The best thing for shedding that I've found is letting the turtles out in the sun for at least 30 minutes a day. If it is a really hot day, make sure you give them a shaddy spot to get out of the heat.

-Michael

[steve]

Also make sure no one is sneaking extra food to them.

[tonyandlala]

Thanks guys.
Michael, great idea about sinking the lettuce, but i think that works better in a pond, can only imagine what the tank would look like after that, but will definitely up the lettuce feedings and cut down on the sugars.
Steve, does it appear that they are being fed too much? Is that the beginning of pyramiding?
Tony

[steve]

There is some light pyramiding, but it is early and can get better after several sheds and a correct diet.

[tonyandlala]

Could I get an update to their shell health? Original pics posted 2/1/12.

http://s1075.photobucket.com/albums/w43 ... y_Multari/

The first 3 are the new ones.
Thanks!

[apondfortimmy]

I weigh one head of lettuce down so it resembles a water plant and wait for it to disappear, then I add another head.

This is BRILLIANT.


Came to commend a great idea, stayed to learn more about shells.

[tonyandlala]

Those original pics were from 3 months ago, not February.....

[steve]

Have they made any progress with shedding?

[tonyandlala]

To me it looks similar, but i'm a first time owner, not exactly sure what to be looking for. The scutes seem slightly different, a little more removed and smaller but still there. How long does a typical shed take?
Would appreciate a more experienced look.
The first three pics in the album are the new ones, the others are nearly three months old.

[steve]

I'm at work and can't take a clear look, but shedding is hard to predict and manage. It requires a lot of time and patience... some basking under the sun will be the greatest help of all.

[CactusJohn5]

My personal experience is that for the best shedding make sure they can get 100% out of the water and 100% dry. As for frequency of shedding, it's really diet specific, if they have a healthy diet i believe at that age, they should be shedding multiple times a year.

[tonyandlala]

They love to bask and are comfortable doing it for hours at a time totally drying off.
Diet is split between 4-6 pellets a day and they devour lettuce and pick quite often on the cuttlebone.
The top layer of the scutes do appear to be shrinking (?) but I've never seen one come off or find any floating although i realize they're small and mostly clear.
If it's multiple times a year they are supposed to shed I've yet to see them do it once since we got them in January.
Hoping someone could compare the pics from 3 months ago to the recent ones and see if progress is being made (they were overfed in the beginning).