General Care Discussion :: Itchy Turtle

[Callie]

Hey Guys, I've been without internet for some time, and thus unable to be on here...

I've a silly question... George, my girl, who's about 7" in length, is shedding again (yippeee)...and itchy like nutso. I was wondering if anyone has tips on how to make her comfortable, and maybe help scratch parts of herself..lol.. She just tried to rub her chin on the sand at the bottom of the tank, which I don't believe was overly successful in curing the itch...

She eats, swims, basks as normal. She's in a 75G tank, with above-tank basking area, so she has plenty of swimming space...

Her setup:




She has two lamps, a heat, and a UVB/A (speaking of, how can you tell if you need to replace the bulb, I've been meaning to ask - I just do every few months even if it's still working...)

Thanks in advance!!

[rsour24]

keeping decorations in the tank like wood help. mopani wood is awesome. and yes i spelled it wrong. and UVB bulbs usually stop giving off UVB after about 6 months but continue to light up. so you are correct with just replacing the bulb

[steve]

Is her shell clean? Maybe give it a good wipe or a soft scrub.

[Callie]

Thanks for the quick response!!

Her shell is clean...ish... I'm sure she wouldn't mind a light scrub, I just had remembered reading to be very careful in doing that, but then apparently forgot the part that you COULD do it... what would I use? Old, soft bristle toothbrush?

She seems mostly itchy on her skin though, and I wondered if that ...fake grass, turf, thingie would work in scratching her legs/neck for her? Right now, as you may be able to see in her basking area, it's just a sort of plastic, slightly ruffled surface (can't really explain it)...but I doubt it's enough to scratch itchy spots on.

Wood is great idea, I'll look into that, thanks! I thought about rocks, but worried it'd be too damaging to scales/skin.

I knew you guys'd have the answers!

And thank you about the lamp question, wasn't sure of the time period of efficacy... 6 months...ok, good

[marisa]

No, rsour24, I believe you spelled mopani correctly. That wood would work well, as would other objects that aren't sharp or abrasive. My RES likes to rub his shell under his corkbark basking area.

[Jaysea]

mopani wood is awesome for shell scratching my turtle actually pushes herself under her wood and lifts it up and shakes all around under it to scratch her back lol.