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Does it look like Toots' is shedding the scutes? Is my turtle a female? Toots is a little more than 4 inches. I think she is older than she looks....but not sure.












And some cute photos!

Toots is a guy - no question in my mind. His toenails still have some growing to do but that tail is a give-away. He's a cutie all right.

His shell doesn't look like it's actually shedding - but it looks like it needs to. Those concentric rings are the sign that it should have been shedding scutes in the past.

Does he bask frequently where he can dry out completely - top and bottom - under a good UVB light? That's essential for shell health including shedding. Also, sometimes a shortage of vitamin e in the diet can cause a turtle not to shed when he should (retained scutes). Here are some foods rich in vitamin e that you can feed your turtle from time to time:

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

Foods with vitamin e that you shouldn't feed to your turtle because of some of the other things they contain:

Broccoli
Spinach

Oh no! I really hope Toots is NOT a boy! What kind of a name is Toots for a boy turtle!

Toots has a dry dock to bask on and a good UVB light. But Toots likes to try to climb out of the tank and swim and scratch at the glass.

So boy turtles have fatter tails at the base? I thought it looked kinda swollen...then all of a sudden I couldn't remember if the tail always looked like that!

Here are some more photos of the tail.

That's a very manly looking tail. On the name, it happens all the time that a turtle gets named for one sex then turns out to be the other. I knew a boy turtle named Lulu and he was quite well adjusted.

It's absolutely essential that Toots bask and dry out regularly. If he's not doing it, check the temperatures. Turtles are attracted to warmth, so your basking area should be at least 10 degrees warmer than the water. If water temp is 75 degrees, basking area can be 88 or 90 degrees fahrenheit. On the other hand, if the basking area is too hot, he won't bask, so it's important to measure the temps with a thermometer to get them just right.

My Leo is actually a lady . She doesn't seem to mind at all.
And on having a male- congrats on escaping egg laying!
As spotsmama said- basking is essential for good shedding- sometimes turtles can be finicky about the temp they prefer to bask under so it takes some trial and error to find the best set up.