Hi! Introduce yourselves here. :: Hello!!!

[Silver_wlf]

Hi!

I took on an RES from a friend who couldn't care for him/her? anymore. I didn't realize what I was getting into - but as soon as Sheldon arrived I knew the tank setup wasn't okay. He was in a 10 gallon tank with a filter, heat/UV lights and a basking spot. No thermometer, no heater. He was covered in algae.

Well - I promptly read everything I could find (and most of the pages here) and went out to get a heater, cuttlefish bone, live food and some plants to give him somewhere to hide.

I have since found a 150 gallon tank and he is MUCH happier and cleaner in his temporary home. So I'm here to learn everything I possibly can. I love watching him - he's so funny. I'm looking forward to moving him to the bigger tank this weekend as soon as I can find out where to put it. ;o)

Nice to meet you all!!!

[Diamondbacks4Life]

Welcome to the forum! Hope you can take pics of the setup up when its all done. You can brush him with a soft toothbrush to help get some of the algae off him if you didnt already.

[steve]

Hi, welcome to the site! Glad Sheldon has a happy new home.

[Silver_wlf]

Okay - I think I've been reading too much - now I'm worried. I'll call him a him for now... he's too small to know. He's about 2".

His skin is shedding which according to what I've read ranges from normal to not-good.... The tank is 75-78 degrees in the water and warmer (I need another thermometer) on the basking spot. He is getting fed every other day now (I was feeding him pellets in the morning and frozen live at night which I guess is too much) along with veggies which he mostly ignores (he will eat cucumber, snow peas but thus far ignores carrots and any greens). His shell isn't smooth - but the algae is gone. I should probably take pictures...

How much should I worry? There aren't any white spots - the skin just looks like it's shedding. He's happy and active and eating. (Would love to eat more. Hahahahaha!!)

[steve]

Minor skin shedding is fairly normal. You really should get one or two good thermometers, the sticky type is ok to measure the water as a backup. At 2" he can be fed everyday, but maybe just less than what you did previously. How rough is his shell?

[Silver_wlf]

Thank you!!!

I have one of the glass ones that are in the water, I added a sticky one to the outside basking area to make sure. I also opted for a 55gal tank for the interim as the 150gal is too big for my house (and can stay in the garage until I move).

I went back to feeding him pellets every morning and every other day he gets the frozen live cube. He will eat snow peas, cucumbers and blueberries. Everything else is ignored.

His shell isn't really rough for the most part - and it looks like the smaller scales are starting to peel off since I posted before(they are MUCH smaller than the ones underneath - and some have fallen off already). The skin looks healthy and he's very bright eyed and busy. It was just a lot of skin all at once!

I'll post pictures - he's moving into the bigger tank tonight.

[PridgNYC]

Sounds healthy to me. Shedding scales and skin is a natural part of his growth. It's when he stops shedding scales that you know there is a problem.