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Turtle missing his nails?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 12:39 pm
by rebekah_clancy
I've had my RES for a little over three months now. A few days ago I noticed he didn't have as long of claws on his fron feet anymore and when I was cleaning his tank I found several of them of the bottom under his floating rock he basks on. He is still eating and acting normally and I can't see any damage to the nail beds. My biggest worry is why they fell off and will they grow back? Up until I got him he didn't have the healthiest living environment so I don't know if it is possibly a nutrition problem or anything like that. Has anyone else had anything similar happen?

General Information

Male RES about 1 and a half years old
6.5 inches long
Water temp 77
Basking temp 82

Re: Turtle missing his nails?

PostPosted: Fri Feb 07, 2014 3:49 pm
by steve
It's very unusual for them to fall off. Could it have gotten stuck on something?

A RES that is 6.5" long at 18 months is quite large, almost twice the size than what I would expect. It's also probably a female, which would have shorter nails.

Re: Turtle missing his nails?

PostPosted: Sun Feb 09, 2014 12:19 am
by penelope
Penelope had a few claws fall out, but that was when she was suffering from a major case of calcium deficiency.
They did grow back, eventually.
I would triple check to make sure they actually fell out versus breaking off at the root.
So, yeah - nutrition could be a factor