General Care Discussion :: Shells... are they good?

[RES4ever]

Sandy:


Squirtle:


Speedy:

[camee1991]

Hi! To me Sandy looks good, but also looks like some scutes have been torn a bit...they need to come off by themselves and Squirtle looks great (A little scratchy...) but looks like he needs to shed a few too and I think Speedy looks the best! Very nice.

Great turts you got there!

[SpotsMama]

All the shells have nice shapes - dome shaped without any pyramiding. Squirtle, however, especially looks like she needs to shed. Does she bask regularly under a good light? You might offer her foods containing vitamin e to encourage her to shed. Here's a list:

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

Have you tried cleaning her shell very gently with a soft toothbrush or wet paper towel? Does any of the white come off? If you rub on the white with a q tip dipped in vinegar, does it come off?

[Take-One]

Sandy looks a little bit...sandy. Like Spotsmama says try to get it off with a soft toothbrush.

[Doc_Moore_J]

Rather than starting a new topic, I will post a couple quick questions here. Buddy's scutes feel like he may be ready to shed soon, when I stroke him, I can feel the edges lifted slighty, is that a sign of shedding soon? He has been basking a lot lately, all temps are gtg, but he has been basking for probably 8 hours a day easily. I wonder if he is doing too much because he seems to want to keep his eyes closed now. Even under water he closes them a lot. I also bought some Tetra Turtle Vitashell, have any of you used this? Its like turtle wax lol. Lotion for his shell.

[VanishingReality]

I also bought some Tetra Turtle Vitashell, have any of you used this? Its like turtle wax lol. Lotion for his shell.

Do NOT use it, it will just cause problems in the long run.

[SpotsMama]

Ditto on the turtle wax. I don't know why stores sell the stuff - it is bad news.

Feeling the edges of the scutes when you stroke him is a sign that he will hopefully shed soon. Basking a lot - 8 hours a day - is not that unusual. Often Spot will do that. However, keeping his eyes closed when he's underwater isn't typical. I wonder if something in the water could be irritating his eyes, and also making him want to keep out of the water. Do you use a conditioner?

[Doc_Moore_J]

I use "Reptisafe" water treatner to remove chlorine and amonia but only when I do water changes, and never more then the reccomendation. I was reading how some lights irritate the eyes, or burn them, but I bought the water turtle specific bulbs (reptiglow 5 I think it was) and they are each about 15" away from where he likes to bask (UVA is a little farther to maintain perfect temp). The UVB bulb is super bright though, I actually have been turning it off every once in awhile and just letting him sit under the warming bulb which is darker.

I'm surprised the turtle shell conditioner is so frowned upon, I hate when pet store people dont know what the hell they are talking about, and I agree, they shouldnt sell it if it will harm them. Lesson learned and $4 wasted lol

[RES4ever]

All the shells have nice shapes - dome shaped without any pyramiding. Squirtle, however, especially looks like she needs to shed. Does she bask regularly under a good light? You might offer her foods containing vitamin e to encourage her to shed. Here's a list:

Tomato
Sweet potato
Turnip greens
Blueberries
Apple skin

Have you tried cleaning her shell very gently with a soft toothbrush or wet paper towel? Does any of the white come off? If you rub on the white with a q tip dipped in vinegar, does it come off?

The bolded area: Squirt is a boy (a) but not a problem. So anyway he basks the most of all my turtles.

Sandy looks a little bit...sandy. Like Spotsmama says try to get it off with a soft toothbrush.

Well they just came out of their sandbox so...

[RES4ever]

Ok. I used the vinegar and the toothbrush and layer upon layer of everyone's shells came right off. I believe the whiteness is a result of water getting under the loose sections of the shell that should be shedding. Thanks for all your help. I will try the foods on them too.

[monte$mom]

i know this reply is late but im just reading stuff catching up??? my turtles bout 5-6 months not exactly sure anyhow is he gonna be shedding soon?

[Take-One]

To Monte$mom: My turtles are shedding already and there only 7 months. I think mine shedded the earliest here. But I have heared of turtles not shedding for a year or two. Theres no way to tell.

[marisa]

The shedding in part depends on how fast the turtle is growing and the conditions the turtle is living in.