General Care Discussion

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 11:09 am **cuttlebone finally**

i've had my 5 year old res for almost a year and have looked to this site for every question i've had. i have been trying to get him to eat the cuttle but he's never been interested until today. i busted off 3 smallish pieces and played like they where treats, he gobbled it all up

now to my question, he's about 6" long and has some shell build up. before i got him he had never bask or had uvb or a place to dry off. he gets pellets and veggies every other day (he eats daily) his temps are good and all that. i'll try to add a picture of his shell for a better idea what i mean, i'm just wanting him to get rid of the excess. thanks, i'll see about a picture now.
cb

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 2:17 pm

Try giving him foods containing vitamin e. That should help with the shedding. Examples are steamed sweet potato, blueberries, tomato, turnip greens and apple peel. A serving or two a week is the most you'll need to get the benefit.

Besides that, lots of basking under good quality UVB (make sure you have the right kind of UVB bulb and that it's fresh as they lose strength over time) and lots of calcium in the diet (give him constant access to the cuttlebone) should do it. Oh, and the other ingredient is time. Waiting for a turtle to shed scutes is kind of like waiting for water to boil. It takes patience.

If you can provide a photo, that would be good.

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 7:17 pm

Does he have a good UVB light to bask under and does he bask?

A good pic of the shell dry showing the buildup would be helpful.

Posted: Thu Apr 23, 2009 8:12 pm

marisa wrote:Does he have a good UVB light to bask under and does he bask?

A good pic of the shell dry showing the buildup would be helpful.

he has the 5.0 uvb (month old) and his basking area reads 88*. he has his lights for 12 hours and he bask usually 70% of the day. i have a ton of pictures just can't find the cord. i am starting to see the copper color that says there is air underneath so hopefully it's comming. i will get pictures up asap. he does like blueberries, i didn't know they where good for him tho. thanks and i'll keep you all updated.
cb

Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2009 12:15 am

Blueberries have lots of sugar (as do most of foods containing vitamin A)

I like sweet potato (not yam!) because it has exorborant amounts of Vitamin A. Even though it is way sweeter than anything else.

General Care Discussion :: cuttlebone finally

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