Urgent Care

We have had our turtles since early January. In that time both turtles havent had a "good" shed. Both have shed a little on their shells and both have shed on their skin twice now. I can not tell if this is just shedding or if its something worse (fungus or bacteria). Their home is pure textbook and we are upgrading the tank as soon as we find a stand

. Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated. Oh yeah, both turtles are acting normal as usual. Thanks again guys!

The main issue is some pyramiding. That excessive growth causes that "bumpiness" and generally scutes shedding takes time. You can see in the second pic, only the "baby" scute is/was starting the shed. In some of the other pics, it looks like there might be some fungus developing/spreading in the marginal scutes.

Thanks for the reply Steve. I understand about the pyramiding and I admit guilt on that. I was overfeeding for about the first 4 months that we became herp parents. I have since gone to feeding every other day.

The issue with the fungus is puzzling to me. Im not sure what could cause that and also the actions to getting rid of it if there is fungus present. I have noticed that my basking temp is a little on the low side, I am going to get a new bulb now. If you think there is anything else I can try just let me know. Thanks again Steve!

Your RES definitely needs to shed some of those scutes, and not just those baby ones. Is there a UVB light as well?

I have the exact same issue with Charlotte. She's only starting to shed her baby scutes now and i've had her for 9 months! I think the best we can do at this point is make sure our RES have a good diet and lots of access to UVB lighting.

I have been using reptisun 10.0 for uvb since the day we got them. I am sure that it is time to replace it, from what I have read it's every six monthsthat your uvb needs to be changed. I planned on orderering one this week along with a new powerhead and other supplies. I thought about going to the 5.0 because that is what a lot of people use but I have used the 10.0 for 9 months so I do not know if it would make a difference to switch to a 5.0. Maybe the 5.0 will slow their growth just a touch :?:

The 5.0 or 10.0 won't have that kind of impact on growth. Work out a good diet, good basking area and I would treat the fungus before it spreads.

Urgent Care :: shedding or something worse (pics included)

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