General Care Discussion :: Claws falling off

[Dreamopen]

Hello, one of my turtle is loosing it's claws.

She missing 1 claw (the pinkie) on the left, and 2 claws (pinkie & thumb) on the right.

Is it because I'm not feeding her enough? I'm feeding her 2 times a day with the pellets.

Or is it because she's not basking? I have a ramp built, but she doesn't want to climb up like the other turtle.

Please help,

Joanne

[sonyj]

RES that are over a year old should be fed once every other day only the amount of pellets that would fit inside their head if it were hollow. And veggies can be given daily. So if anything you are overfeeding already, cut back instead of feeding more.

I'm not sure if it's due to the not basking, but she needs to bask to stay healthy so it could effect her. How long has she not basked?

Also, are there any decorations/tank equipment that she could be catching her nails on and causing injury?

One more thought, according to your other posts you have two RES, are they fighting/showing aggression towards each other? Could this have been done because aggression from the other turtle?

[marisa]

The missing nails are on the front, not the hind feet? If so, do the nail beds look infected at all? Does it look like they've been injured/bitten at all? How big are your turtles (shell lengths without the curves) and how big is the tank they're in?

Does your turtle have to do a lot of clawing/pulling with the front feet to get on the basking area? If she doesn't want to use the ramp, but instead tries to pull herself up on the basking area, she could be pulling out her nails if she has to struggle to get on it...

If your other turtle's nails are OK, I would think that the missing claws are most likely due to some kind of injury. That said, variety in the diet is important. What else are you feeding them besides pellets?

[Dreamopen]

You guys are right. The other turtle is a smaller turtle (about 6 inches), so climbing up to the basking area is easy. The larger turtle, the missing claws, is about 9 inches. Pretty large. I think its having trouble climbing up the basking area.

Right now I'm put those anti-cupboards grip things. Any alternatives I can use for grip instead?

I have just raised the water level up another inch, and now I'm extending the platform a bit longer.

Thanks so much!

Joanne