General Care Discussion :: Constantly Shedding/Feeding Questions

[JNZBCBnLIL]

Leo is always shedding- whether it's his legs or neck or shell! From what I've been reading I didn't feel like the shedding should be so constant- could he be growing too fast? (He's a hatchling) I wanted to make sure that how I am feeding him is okay! I feed him the equivalent to his head size throughout the day rather then just all at once- he seems to like that because when he is begging I can throw in a little food to make him happy! I kind of feel like I'm using his pellets as treats but it makes him happy and I make sure he doesn't get any more then that head size throughout the day! (Brandon knows not to feed him unless I tell him he needs to- so he only gets fed by me) I always feed him half a head size when he wakes up in the morning and I turn on his basking lamp- and the rest is random throughout the day! ??? is that okay?


OoO random question- he basks in the morning/daytime but never (as far as I know) as the afternoon gets later... is that normal?

[steve]

For some reason my male sheds a lot of skin. He eats a percentage of pellets, so I'm not sure if protein plays a major role.

What else are you feeding him?

They bask whenever they want too

[JNZBCBnLIL]

I'm feeding him pellets, romaine lettuce, rosie reds are in the tank, and I attempt carrots when I get the chance but he doesn't seem to like those unless it's a last resort!

He's aaaaaalways hungry! I read that the water temp being too warm can lead to overeatting- but it's always at a constant 80 degrees- i'm always checking because i'm a worrier! but the second that food hits the water he's chowing down and if he doesn't have pellets available he's rippin away at the lettuce! AND as soon as I put anything fake in the tank like his plants- he attempts to eat them until he realizes they're not edible! lol

[industrial_girl_2000]

Leo is always shedding- whether it's his legs or neck or shell! From what I've been reading I didn't feel like the shedding should be so constant- could he be growing too fast?
OoO random question- he basks in the morning/daytime but never (as far as I know) as the afternoon gets later... is that normal?

Check the water temp. I used to have this prob with my RES too, but it was only because her water temp was too high (80 degrees). I turned it down to 76 now and that solved the constant skin shedding problem.

Turts will bask whenever they feel like it. There is no rhyme or reason. As long as he is basking, it doesn't matter what time of day.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

so even as a hatchling I should knock the temp down a bit? I just thought it said to keep it at 80 for them?

[industrial_girl_2000]

It should be around 78 for a hatchling so you can turn it down a bit.

[JNZBCBnLIL]

okay- will do! I think this mornin when I checked it was 79 so I'll turn it down a tiny bit!