General Care Discussion :: I need advice on what to do.

[Jociellen]

So after reading on here for about an hour I realize there is something wrong with thier shells.

I am guessing they are retaining schutes? How do I help them shed these?

I didn't realize till now I was supposed to be feeding them more then just pellets so I am going to make the jello shots today as soon as I have some time to go to the store. I am guessing I need to get a cuttle bone and give them that too. What else should I do to correct their shells? and is it ok to peel them off myself?

Please give me as much advice as possible. I feel like a horrible turtle mom right now

[Caphits]

Do NOT pull them off yourself. It will damage the shell, and will probably lead to infection. Foods with Vitamin E will help with shedding.





EDIT: its not vitamin A, its vitamin E.

[Jociellen]

ok so do they look like they are pyramiding badly? Is there anything else I would need to do?

[TheComputerGremlin]

As Caphits said, no pulling them off. A quick correction, it's vitamin E, though. Carrots are good for vitamin A, which is mainly for the eyes.

About pyramiding, the photos aren't on the greatest angle, but it looks like there is some pyramiding and some scute retention. Start on the vitamin E foods, though don't overfeed them. If your turtles are greater than 4", start feeding them a head-ful of pellets every other day instead of everyday. You can't reverse pyramiding, it is permanent damage, but you can stop the pyramiding from continuing and lessen the damage by starting on a good diet now. Over a few scute sheds, it may look a lot better as well. Patience is the key with shedding, though, you can't rush them.

[SpotsMama]

First of all, your turtles are gorgeous. The shell and skin patterns are so vivid.

They are retaining scutes; ie, the top thin layer that should shed off looks like it isn't coming off. To facilitate shedding, they need lots of calcium in their diets (cuttlebone), need to bask a lot where they get to dry off (top and bottom) completely, when they bask they need to be under good quality UVB light (so their bodies can metabolize the calcium they eat), and they need small servings of food containing vitamin e (steamed sweet potato, blueberries, tomato, turnip greens, apple peel).

It looks like some of the scutes have loosened to the point that algae is growing underneath them (assuming that's what makes some of them look bright green). The algae in and of itself isn't harmful, but if algae can grow underneath a scute, then others things can too - like bacteria and fungus - and they aren't so benign. That's why it's important that those scutes go ahead and come off. Why don't you gently wash their shells from time to time with a 50/50 solution of Hibiclense (an antiseptic hand wash for people you can get at stores like Walgreens) and water, using a wet paper towel or soft toothbrush. Rinse thoroughly. This might stop something bad like bacteria or fungus from taking hold.

[Caphits]

It seems to me like raw sweet potato, blueberries, and apple peels contain almost no vitamin E according to http://www.nutritiondata.com

It looks like Dandelion greens, Turnip greens, Sweet peppers, and carrots (because of their other benefits) would be a better way to go for Vitamin E.


again, according to http://www.nutritiondata.com

[Rubicon]

So what are some good things to give them that have vitamin e?

[Caphits]

It looks like Dandelion greens, Turnip greens, Sweet peppers, and carrots (because of their other benefits) would be a better way to go for Vitamin E.


again, according to http://www.nutritiondata.com

[Jociellen]

Ok I am a bit confused now. On that link it says that sweet potatoes have very high vit a. Do they need vit a or vit e to schute? Actually every food mentioned in this thread that I could look up has vit a......what kind of food do I give to help them schute?

[megcornell]

Although I don't know the science behind it, I've heard vitamin E is what helps turtles shed scutes.
On this site, most members recommend things like apple peel and blueberries for vitamin E. I've also seen mustard greens listed as good sources of vitamin E.

Another important aspect of healthy shedding is access to UVB light. Do you have one set up for your turtles over the basking area?

[Jociellen]

Yes I have an Exo Terra Solar Glo bulb in there so yes they do get the UVB that they need. I think I just need to change their diet. Altho I will have to figure the foods out because I guess they need vit e right? At least that is what I sort of from the confusion on here its all good tho

[mikee]

You may want to change out your uvb bulb if it is over a year old. Most bulbs loose their effectiveness after that tme. I change mine every 6 months to make sure. m.

[turtles are wicked]

vitamin e for the peeling, and dont peel yourself, i would recomend changing the bulbs and feed them more greens, and btw your turtles shell is amazing, wow the colour is FAB!! i have a yellow bellied slider and it has red flames on the side, i love terrapins, the each shell has thier own amazing design, theyre all diff, anyhoo getting off subject here.........if your bulbs are gettin old, replace them, i fell into the trap of givin my turts an unbalanced diet, i had to take one of them to the vet yesterday, needed vit a for her eyes bless her, dont fall into the same trap, cabbage is a good one and carrot, turts love em

[SpotsMama]

Caphits, I'm not sure what you were looking at on the Nuitritiondata.com site. Here's what I found:

Per Nuitritiondata.com 2/1/2009

Carrot 4% .8mg
Bell pepper 3% .6mg
Dandelion greens 9% 1.8mg
Turnip greens 8% 1.6mg
Sweet potato 7% 1.4mg
Blueberries 4% .8mg
Apple (with skin) see note 1% .2mg
Tomato 7% 1.3mg

note: the nuitritiondata.com site did not list
vit e content for apple peel alone. However,
other sites list apple peel as a good source of
vit e.


Turnip greens are typically on my list of foods containing vitamin e. I don't recommend raw sweet potato but any more but steamed sweet potato instead for fear that if a turtle tries to swallow too large a chunk, he could choke if the chunk hasn't been softened by steaming or boiling. Dandelion greens are great for everything but hard to find in most places. )I finally found some in Dallas (after looking for quite a while) but neither me nor my turtle particularly liked the taste. Others apparently love it.)

The foods containing really significant amounts of vitamin e are bad for turtles for other reasons - nuts and oils and other fatty things.

Here's a site with a longer list of foods containing vitamin e. Other similar lists I've seen include blueberries, and some also include other berries like blackberries and rasberries.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/hyg-fact/5000/5554.html

[Bobbysmom]

Does anyone know if applying a vit e oil to their shells help any?