General Care Discussion :: Dry Docking

[Mike S]

Hello,
I am back again after a year hiatus. Just dont have the time these days. So Mr. Torguga turned out to be a female based on the fact she laid nine eggs last summer. They were unfertalized so no hatchlings! So Mr. Tortuga changed her name to Mrs. Tortuga. She is living in a 120 gallon tank with three docks supported by a custom made stainless steel stand. She has so much more room and the tank is easier to maintain and keep clean. So on to my issue......She has been shedding her scutes pretty consistently over the past few months. I think she is still growing and is at 5 lbs. Regardless, I took her to a vet just for a checkup. She is fine however the vet suggested dry docking for a week to see if the remaining scutes will peel off. I was kind of reluctant to try this however started yesterday. I set up a plastic tank with a UV lamp and basking lamp. I kept her in the tub last night with no lights and a few towels. This morning I put her back in the water for 30 minutes to hydrate and then put her back in the tub with the basking light for a few hours. I dont leave it on all day. I will put her back in the water for 30 minutes this evening to hydrate again. A few scutes did fall off overnight. Am I doing the right thing?

Thanks,
Mike

[steve]

Hey Mike! I'm curious as to what those stands look like. How often is she basking? A few hours a day is good. Some of us have also been adding a little bit wheat-germ pellets into their diet as well. This is also believed to help with shedding. The dry dock routine sounds OK, though I would probably just do it overnight if she's not receptive to the daytime dry docking.

[Mike S]

Hi Steve,
The stand was custom built out of the same type of stainless steel used in medical devices. My dad had it made for me for my birthday and would not tell me how much it cost. I will take some photos and attach when I have some time. It is very sturdy and I can stand on it. I just may need some directions on how to attach photos. I have the lights on a 12 hour timer. From 8:00AM - 8:00PM they are on. From 8:00PM - 8:00AM she is in the dark. The tank is in my basement. She jumps off the dock anytime anyone goes down there except for me. She usually stays up there and watches me. I would say she is up there at least two to three hours per day. Her favorite spots are at the bottom of the tank where the water intake is for the filter and on a plastic tree. She kind of balances on the tree with her back legs with just the top of her head poking above the water. So the first night of dry dock was ok. She buried herself under one of the towels I had in the dry tank. I then turned on the basking light for a few hours (not sure she needs it so much except to dry off). I ran home a few hours ago to check on her and turned off the basking light. Now she just has the UV. I have the temporary tank on the second floor of the house and it is between 70 - 74 degress up there. I will go home in a few hours and put her in regular tank to hydrate then back under the basking light to dry off. She did lose a scute so it is working. I will def get some wheat-germ pallets.

[steve]

I don't think the dry docking will have an immediate effect, but it does seem like she was already in the process. If you want to use the forum to attach pics, just reply or start a new post and go to full editor -> upload attachment

[Mike S]

Hello again,
Put T back into her regular environment on Saturday. She hated dry docking to say the least. When I went up to take her out of the dry dock tank on Saturday, she had flipped her water bowl upside down and was under a towel and the bowl. I put her back in her tank for 40 minutes. When I went to take her out again, she swam full speed to the other side of the tank and under her dock. I never saw her move so fast. I decided to just leave her in there at that point as I didnt see any reason to stress her anymore. She shedded most of her scutes and she looks great.

[steve]

Agreed, it was probably unnecessary.