Urgent Care :: excessive shell shedding

[airboss]

My adult Slider -purchased about 1 year ago- has been experiencing excessive shedding, virtually non stop, and a very darkened shell coloring. Behavior and diet ( commercial diet, meal worms, plus feeder fish) are seemingly ok and the turtle is being kept in a heated environment with daily exposure to natural sunlight for several hours.

Any ideas on this condition and how to treat?

[marisa]

Welcome. When you say your slider is adult, do you mean that you got him as an adult (a 5+ inch shell length not including the curve) and have had him a year, or did you get him as a hatchling and you've now had him a year?

How big is the turtle (shell length not including the curve)? Has he grown much in the time you've had him? When he sheds, what do the new scutes look healthy (underlying scutes will look somewhat darker after the turtle has shed)? Do the scutes come off in one piece or in little pieces (like flaking)?

Overfeeding (especially high-protein food) and excessive warmth are two factors that will contribute to excessive growth (and shedding).

Commercial pellets and fish are high in protein (and mealworms are bad as a staple in the diet---little nutrition and a poor calcium/phosphorus ratio). Plant matter (veggies and aquatic plants) should be the major part of an adult RES's diet.

How many pellets and fish is your turtle being given and how often? An adult turtle should have pellets not more frequently than every other day, and, as a guide, the amount give should be what would fit into the head (not including the neck). Fish should be a treat.

What is the temp of the water and basking area? For an adult turtle, the water temp can be low to mid 70'sF and the basking area should be mid to high 80's (90F tops).

The daily exposure to natural sunlight is outside and not through any barrier like glass?

How often is the tank water changed?

[airboss]

Thanks for the response....

Yes- he was approx. 5" long when purchased.

Underlying scutes DO look very dark- almost lacking in any color variation- looks almost "algae-like". They do peel in both larger pieces and flakes- sort of like mica.

Based upon what you're advising- I am WAY over-feeding - so I'll imm. cut back on that. During the winter months- I keep him inside in a 30 gal. low tank that has about 5" water depth with a large basking area beneath a heat source reflector and a incandecent bulb/reflecotr as well. I probably have had too much heat- as the water temp goes up-so I can change that. If the day is mild- I can put him outside in a kid's plastic pool. No heater in there -so I have to be careful about "natural" water temp. (we live in the Los Angeles area). I have been changing the tank waer at least once aweek and it does have a basic filter system.

Diet- No problem with commercial food and feeder fish- BUT both my turtles will not touch any veg. matter- any ideas?

So- does sheeding sound normal as a result of faults in diet and habitat? Should I treat this condition? Obviously- I will change diet and modify habitat conditions.

[industrial_girl_2000]

Welcome to the forum! I have an adult RES that I had to train to eat veggies/fruits. This is how I did it (read all the way thru the thread because there are updates as well!):

http://www.redearslider.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=3998

30gallon tank is way too small for your 5"+ size RES. Turtles love to swim, so start making a plan to upgrade the tank to a larger one. I have my 9" RES in a 90 gallon tank and she loves it because she can spread all the way out & not touch the bottom. Fill up as much as you can! Your baby will love you for it.

Also, I don't know if you know, but nowadays cleaning a super large tank is not a bucket-by-bucket job. They have something called a "python" tube which hooks up to a faucet in your house & sucks the water out of the tank when you run the faucet. Then when you flip the valve on the python the opposite way, the python will FILL your tank. NO HAULING buckets!!! It is the greatest thing ever. So don't be scared of a bigger tank because of cleaning. It's not bad, trust me. I was worried when I went to my 90-gallon but it is working out great.

My turtle is almost totally black in color on her belly so that is normal for some turts. Also, the bottom of the shell (plastron) tends to peel as you described, more in "mica-like" sheets that are thicker. Also normal.