General Care Discussion :: Pyramiding or Shedding?

[Arisu]

This is my 3" turtle. I feed him 6 reptomin pellets (fits inside his head) daily but doesn't care for veggies yet. He is shedding for sure but is he pyramiding as well? If so, how much should I feed him? His carapace is still relatively smooth when I run my finger down it. He's also been rubbing his shell against the ramp in his tank, is it because of the shedding?

[megcornell]

From those pictures it looks more like retained scutes than pyramiding.
Try feeding him foods high in vitamin E like blueberries or apple peels to encourage shedding. Also make sure he has access to good UVB lighting.
Both diet and lighting are important for shell health.

[SpotsMama]

And yes, when a turtle needs to shed scutes he/she will rub his/her shell against the ramp or decorations or even your fingernails.

[marisa]

He needs to shed scutes. The smaller ones on top should have gone long ago.

How much does he bask? What's the basking area temp? What kind of UVB are you using?

[Arisu]

I used to have a MVB, but it was old and now I only have a heat source. I'm planning to look for a 5.0 UVB lamp.

He basks only when I am asleep or out of the room. I'm pretty sure he does it regularly tho because every time I come home from school, hes up there. The basking temperature is usually in the high 80s-low 90s.

What else can I do to encourage my turtle to shed?

[novroz]

how bout this one?? is it retaining scute or pyramiding?

[SpotsMama]

Novroz, there may be some early pyramiding there. It's hard to tell. Why don't you start a new thread of your own and give us some more photos from different angles.

[novroz]

Okay...I'll shoot her again

[jenyip33]

My turtle looks exactly as the author of this thread. What's with the white lines? and how should i fix it?

[Arisu]

jenyip, the white-ish lines are just how their scutes, their shell's "scales" if you will, look like when they're dried off. My turtle, in this specific case, has retained scutes (ones that were supposed to shed off but didn't). This is sometimes caused by poor lighting, not enough basking, or poor diet (you can look in the "Health" section of the main site for more info).

You can take pictures of your turtle, because it may in a different position as mine, and start your own thread. We can help you figure out what we think is wrong with it!

[jenyip33]

well, mine even looks like that when it's in water. I'll post soem pictures soon. I don't have a uvb light, maybe that's a problem or maybe he doesn't go up and bask