General Care Discussion :: is this normal?

[hcmg08]

my turtle is about 3 years old and up until about 6 months ago he was not taken care of the right way because the person who had him before me got him from a flea market in daytona Fla and they told them to keep him in the little plastic tank he came in and feed him 3 pellets every couple of days =(..
but anyway, after we took him, i researched alot and now hes in the righ tank and he has all the nessasary things in his tank (heater filter exc..) but he has been "sheading" his shell. it actuallly looks like layers are comming off. its looks just like a snakes skin after they shead. his shell isnt soft at all, and hes eating good (too good =)) ..
so i was just wondering if this is a normal thing because hes growing, or is this a sign of a problem?

-hes 3 in. long and 2 1/2 in. wide, his temp in the tank stays arround 75 to 80 deg. and we feed him about 9 pellets a day (reptomin) and we change his filter every 2 weeks and clean the tank 2 times a month.-

if anyone can tell me if this "sheading" is normal that would be great! Thank You.. Heather ..

[meltedspork]

It is totally normal and that is actually a very good sign! The pieces that are coming off are called chutes. Turtles need to shed to keep their shells looking nice and healthy. They also shed as they grow bigger. It's kind of like our nails or hair growing. Although we don't lose our nails or hair, we trim them, which is the same as a turtle shedding layers of shell.

[hcmg08]

thank you so much! that takes a load off my shoulders!! that makes me happy that hes doing good now =)!!! thanks again...