General Care Discussion :: When do hatchlings shed their scutes?

[machina]

I've had my turts for a good 3-4 months now, and Darko is a LOT bigger. Probably twice his size from when I got him. There are large gaps where his baby scutes are.

However, he hasn't shed them yet. There is some *slight* pyramiding because when I first got them I only fed them meal worms. Now they have reptomin, dandylions and lettuce regularly, and both turts eat regularly (Although donnie not so much, being he hasn't grown much)

Now, for the questions EVERYONE asks no matter what thread I make, I have a 20 gal, plenty of filtering, basking spot at mid 90's, and water at low 70's. He does bask, although not as much as he used to. Been eating and craping like a champ too. No health issues! I'm just curious.

[steve]

It took a couple of years before I saw them shed their first scute.

[DavidY]

Now, for the questions EVERYONE asks no matter what thread I make, I have a 20 gal, plenty of filtering, basking spot at mid 90's, and water at low 70's. He does bask, although not as much as he used to. Been eating and craping like a champ too. No health issues! I'm just curious.

he he ...we do get kind of forgetful as to who has what sometimes.

How many pellets do you feed him and do you know roughly how old he is? I assume they're both still babies since the one is growing so fast. Make sure you only give him enough pellets that would fit inside his head if it were hollow (not including the neck). If he's a baby then do this once a day. If he's over 4 inches then cut it back to that amount every other day. Keep feeding the veggies every day. I assume you also have a UVB light too? Lack of UVB will result in a deformed shell and other health issues. Do you have a picture of his shell (when dry so its easier to see his scutes)?

[machina]

Yup UVB/UVA, forgot to mention that.

Feeding him the right amount. Sometimes though, I feed darko, then try to feed donnie, and darko eats his food. So I take him out of the tank and he refuses to eat in his little dish. Soooooo sometimes darko gets some more food so donnie gets his share.

I'll get a pic tonight with my friends uber cool 12 mpixel cam.

[marisa]

My RES shed for the first time when he wasn't quite a year old. My painteds have shed two times in the last year. They shed more when they're younger and growing faster.

[DavidY]

You could try taking darko out of the tank so donnie can eat undisturbed.

[berkleykc]

I take Sally out while LM eats and vice versa. I used to feed them in seperate tanks outside of their main tank BUT I had a busy week a few weeks back and was unable to do that and now neither will eat outside the main tank...LOL

[grey goose]

My three guys are just past the 1 year mark and the only one who has shed her scutes is Gomez, and she is the smallest of the three....