General Care Discussion :: Shedding...taking sooo long!

[raverqueenage]

Hurley has been in the process of shedding his scutes for a LONG time. Has to be about a month now and NONE have fallen off yet. One is peeling up, but that's it. I'm worried about the little one right behind his neck, under his neck and on the back end near the tail. Should it be taking this long? I also had to clean his shell with a soft brush because he was getting algae on it. He HATED it and tried to distroy that brush biting at it and hissing. I felt sooo incredibly bad having to do that to his shedding shell, but I got worried it would cause bacterial infections or something.

What can we do?

He bask regularly, not shy about that at all , water is about 76*-78*, basking area is about 90*ish in the hot spot. He is a famed super basker and acts like a happy fat normal turtle.

Thanks for any help you can give.

[Nettle]

My turtles hate the brush too. They try to break their necks reaching around to attack it.

I'd just give it time. It can't be helped.

[Take-One]

My turtles love having me scratch there shell. I imagane they like the brush too. Not much you can do though. I mean nothing you can do.

[TheComputerGremlin]

You can gently tug on the scutes to see if they are making any progress, but don't pull them off or anything. They just might not be ready to come off. As long as he's happy and basking and eating, I wouldn't worry too much. And my turtle was trying to bite me instead of the toothbrush, so don't feel too bad about it!

[SpotsMama]

Vitamin e in the diet is supposed to help with shell shedding. Here are some foods containing vitamin e that are turtle-appropriate:

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

[1981camaroz28]

What helps my turtles is let them out of the tank and walk in the house. Every night I let my large turtle out and after she is dry they fall off easy.

[marisa]

When it's warm enough, letting him bask outside in the sun will help.

[Dein211]

don't worry, Rolo's shell was taking a long time to shed and now is amost done (for now!) you can defiantely tell the difference. oh yeah and my turtle absolutely dispises the brush. she would run from me the next three days after i brushed her in case i was comming after her again, now she's still a little wary but doesn't nessisarily run from me anymore. (she will if i surprize her though)