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My Red Ear Slider shed large pieces of his shell today. The top portion is normally a very dark green/black color. But now he has large areas of yellow. The same color as his belly. It's almost like he's losing his color. Has anyone ever experienced this? I added some photos. His shell is not soft and not fuzzy. He doesn't appear sick. He is eating. His eyes are clear. He is active.

Some background:

I've had my turtle since I was a little. He's around 27-28 years old. He lives in a 70 gallon tank with a large external Rena filter. The water is de-chlorinated and I add a calcium block during each weekly water change. The filter is cleaned monthly. He has a platform to bask and a Zoo Med basking light with UVA rays. The water is heated at 82F. I feed him turtle pellets and leafy greens. Sometimes carrots and zucchini.

He has never had this "discoloration" on his shell before. I am wondering if it's due to his old age or if there is something wrong.





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how old is he he looks really old

o sorry not to be harsh hes a very old turtle turtles live 30-40 years hes a senior and is just slowing down they loose color at the old part of life

If he hadn't shed in a long time, it's possible that the yellow was always there. My RES's carapace naturally has yellow streaks on it, and they become much less visible when he hasn't shed for a while.

That said, with age, males especially tend to become melanistic, gradually losing color until some appear almost black.

He needs a UVB light in addition to the basking light.

marisa wrote:If he hadn't shed in a long time, it's possible that the yellow was always there. My RES's carapace naturally has yellow streaks on it, and they become much less visible when he hasn't shed for a while.

That said, with age, males especially tend to become melanistic, gradually losing color until some appear almost black.

He needs a UVB light in addition to the basking light.

Hmm. I've actually never used a UVB light for as long as I've had him. I've always used this one basking light for reptiles. I had no idea people used two lights in their setup. The pet store clerks never mentioned this to me either. I've read a little more about it online just now.

What wattage would I need for a 70 gallon?

well there are other ways to replace uvb in the diet. he looks pretty normal to me.

i think he is just getting old. but he should have a uvb bulb. the shell gets blackdue to a lack of uvb. u can just get a 5.0 uvb bulb. put it at the basking area. it may not due to much bc of how old ur turtle is. but for his age i would say he doesnt look half bad

Don't go strictly by wattage. UVB lights don't really give off heat; you want a UVB light that gives off a decent amount of UVB rays (UVB lights also give off UVA rays). Don't go lower than 5%. I don't know what kind of basking light you're using, but for the heat, you could just use an incandescent light bulb. Use whatever wattage puts the basking area temp in the 88 - 90F range.

Actually, with a 70-gallon tank, if you've got some extra cash, I'd consider getting a 100-watt mercury vapor bulb. The one bulb would provide all that your turtle needs (UVB rays, UVA rays and heat). You'd also need a fixture to hang it from (places like Home Depot and Lowes sell decent ones that aren't expensive).