General Care Discussion :: SOS:( I think I overfed my turtle

[speedylover]

hi, im kind a new to the turtle world but my oldest turtle I got like 6 months ago, and he's like 5 inches:(
I barely discovered I was overfeeding him when I read this websites columns.
Also, they shed to much skin what can I do you guys?
I love em so much haha really, they are so cute I want the best for them!

[SpotsMama]

The most common causes for excessive skin shedding are warm water temps and too much food. In your case, it's probably the food. Correct the diet and make sure the water temp is no more than around 75 degrees and the shedding should slow.

Let us know if it doesn't.

[ESG4Life]

Skin shedding or scutes? I didn't know that turtles shed skin.. Is it bad??
If it is how do you prevent/cure it?

[SpotsMama]

Turtles shed both skin and the thin outer layer of shell (scutes). Both are normal.

Shedding skin is white and whispy and is only visible when the turt's in water. Usually skin shedding is barely noticable. Several things can make the shed heavier - periodically some turtles shed more heavily (kind of like a molt I suppose) then it slows back down, warm water temps or too much food make skin shed heavily as do certain skin infections, some vitamin deficiences will cause skin to slough off, and a turtle who has been forced to live in unsanitary water for a long time will shed skin very heavily when first introduced to a hygenic environment after which the shedding subsides.

[ESG4Life]

Okay, I thought that shedding was a sign of like sickness or something. My RES is 5 inches and he hasn't shed his skin (that I know of.) Is that a sign of vitamin deficiency or something?

[SpotsMama]

ESG4, my guess is your RES is shedding but only very mildly. You'd have to look closely while he's in water and well lit to see it. Here's thread with a good photo of a perfectly healthy turtle who is shedding moderately:

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewt ... %2A#137696

[Simba]

I would agree that it could very well be the feeding.

Before I joined this site I went on the food cans instructions to feed the turtle what it will eat in 3-4 minutes. My little piggy ate 1/4 a cup in that time so I kept feeding it that... only to realize I was about a zillion times off :p

She also was *constatly* shedding her skin. Has stopped now that she is getting the rignt amount.

[speedylover]

well,
some people say it might be because the water is too warm but i don't even have a water heater or even a powerful lightbulb that would heat the water so I guess it's the overfeeding. They shed skin all the time I guess it looks like the picture you have spotsmama, but the thing is it happens like daily they never recover from it. So I have to change the diet because i've been giving them mostly shrimp because one day they refused to eat the pellets and that's how its been since then.What should I give them that is healthy for them?

[SpotsMama]

Everything you ever wanted to know about feeding RES:

http://www.redearslider.com/index_nutrition.html

After reading through the above, let us know your questions.

[ESG4Life]

So the skin is that filmy stuff?

[SpotsMama]

Filmy - yes, that's a good description. Stands out around the turtle when he/she's in the water. When it comes off you can see pieces floating in the water. They look like, well, pieces of skin.

[mikee]

Spee - Love - You need to do some research on the care of sliders. There are temperature concerns, lighting concerns, water concerns, etc. If these concerns are not addressed you turtle may have more problems than shedding skin. You can start out by having a tank large enough with clean water. m.

[ESG4Life]

Filmy - yes, that's a good description. Stands out around the turtle when he/she's in the water. When it comes off you can see pieces floating in the water. They look like, well, pieces of skin.

ooh, i understand why you can only see it when it is in the water, it is like human hair, when you go in a swimming pool it fluffs out and away from your head, but when you get out it sticks closer to your head. in the turtles case, it sticks closer to the turts body.