General Care Discussion :: Shell turning black?

[n00bEmpty]

I've been really busy lately so I haven't had a chance to keep an eye on my turtle but today when I was looking at him then I noticed that that his shell is having a blackish/dark green color, it also look like his scutes are too small for him right now too. Here's some pictures.

[roseK]

looks like serious shell retaining.

is he basking enough/getting uva/uvb?

[n00bEmpty]

He's basking under a T-Rex MVB bulb.

[coreyvht]

looks ;ke hes shedding ...did he have his baby clors at first

[n00bEmpty]

He hasn't shed yet, he's only 2.3 inches. The picture on my avatar was him when he was 2 inches.

[n00bEmpty]

So he's shedding right?

[coreyvht]

looks like it'

[n00bEmpty]

Alright, just hope he sheds. The shell turned green again and I can see some air bubbles on on the scutes.

[steve]

It looks like it's from very fast growth. You need to cut down on protein and carefully monitor the diet. Make sure no one else is sneaking treats/extra food.

[n00bEmpty]

I can believe that somebody is sneaking food to my turtle because my family tends to think I starve them because of all the begging they do. I give them about 3-4 pellets (head size) everyday. But right now, it looks like he's shedding.
I've been feeding him pellets and cuttlebone, he refuses to eat veggies and their monthly fruit. I might reduce the amount to 2-3 pellets.

[steve]

There is shedding there, but there is also fast growth. If you can't stop your family from sneaking food to your turtle, then sort out the pellets in a pill box and hide the rest. Let them feed him from what you leave them. Maybe leave them a few carrot sticks too

FYI, I would not discourage your family from interacting or learning about your turtles, but they are yours and your responsibility.

[n00bEmpty]

Yeah, it's all fine if my family visits my turtles and play with them because they already know my little brother and let him watch them bask and stuff. I might go with that pill box idea. But yeah, for all my turtles then I'll have to leave 10 pellets everyday and they still might use favoritism and feed a single turtle 5 pellets and the rest 1-2 pellets.

Edit: The pillbox idea is done. Took me like 2 seconds to find an empty one because my family has a lot of problems and have a lot of them. I just found out that I ran out of cuttlebone.