General Care Discussion :: Advice requested -- shell & shedding

[koreyleigh]

Hank is just about 5 months old. His shell definitely looks to be retaining all it's shutes and I have never seen him shed any nor have I found any in cleaning his tank.

Question here.. I know the usual go-around of having a good UVB (check) and access to cuttlebone (check) but can anyone recommend something I can do to help this process start? They're still nice and tight on there and the ones along the top are starting to take on a pyramid shape, though I've read theres a difference between the two.

Thanks in advance

[marisa]

How long have you had him and how much has he grown since you've gotten him? At 5 months, unless he was growing really fast (not good), I wouldn't really expect him to have a major shed.

If, by pyramiding, you mean the scutes down the spine are slightly pointed, this is pretty standard in hatchlings and will lessen over time as the shell fills out.

If you're really concerned, a pic of the shell when it's dry would be helpful.

[Lantic]

patience is virtue, babies take longer to shed for some reason then adults.

[koreyleigh]

hey marisa-- ive had him for 4 months and hes gone from the size of a half dollar baby, he fills about the size of my palm. I'm not home but will post a picture ASAP when I am. Ha had an influx of protein from eating some fish early on but as of today hes going on a heavy vegetable, light pellets diet.

Thanks again and I should have that photo up by tonight

[koreyleigh]

PHOTOS:










I'm always scared to post photos in the fear of being ripped apart, but here they are and I guess in this instance rip away hahah. Like I mentioned, hes's now a red leaf daily, 3 pellet every other day diet and i bought a sweet potatoe to try using later in the week. I'm going to keep constant cuttlebone and the UVB I only got in December so hopefully, fingers crossed...

Also I should know this bumping is really only occuring in the three foremost shutes, and that's why those are the types of photos I added.

Is there any tip I'm missing?

[theartbook35]

At five months I would be very surprised if your RES shed a lot of their shell. Mine didn't really show signs of shedding their shells until about three months ago, give or take. They shed their shutes (or scutes... what do you call these darn things, anyways) very slowly, over a long period of time.

[marisa]

That's a fair amount of growth in a short amount of time. Pretty aqua eyes... Hard to tell from just seeing the front part of the shell, but what I see does look somewhat lumpy. A pic of the whole carapace when it's dry would be better.

Btw, they're called scutes, not shutes.