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My turtle's shell is peeling badly and she looks horrible. What have I done and how do I fix it? She used to be housed indoors, but last Spring I moved her outside. When the weather turned cold (Oct.) I moved her into a greenhouse to winter over. I was doing a major Spring clean and noticed how poorly she is looking.

Please advise!





How big is your turtle? 8-9"
How long have you had it? 2 years
What is the water temperature? She's in a green house with ambient air temp of 67 degrees. She also has a 300w Ebo Jager heater set at 78--but no thermometer
Did you use a thermometer? No
Are you using a water heater? 300w ebo jager
How much water is in there? 80-90 gallons
Are you using a water conditioner? Sometimes
Are you using any filtration? yes

What is the basking temperature? Unk
Is there a basking light? Yes--2 75w bulbs
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes
What kind is it or what is it made out of? Tiles with stones glued on ramp
Is there a UVB light? No

What have you been trying to feed it? Lettuce, jello shots, Reptomin turtle food other fresh veggies. Rosy reds 1-2/year
When was the last time your turtle ate? Today. Eating is not an issue for her

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? [b]80-90 gallons of a 110 gallon stock tank[/b]
Is the tank near a window? She's in a greenhouse for winter. During summer she is outside
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Negative

Have you read the Basic Care section? A while ago
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Negative

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? I noticed that her shell is really peeling badly

Most of it shedding, which is healthy and normal. I'm not sure of the history, but things like retained scutes and fungus could slow shedding or make it very difficult. Keep in mind that the green house might block her UVB rays.

Does she appear normal in the pics? The area above her left front foot is how she used to look--all over. That area seems to have shed back to normal.

I'm sure she's not getting proper UVB rays. This winter was particularly harsh. I had intended to get her out every few days for a sunshine bask---but it didn't work out. FWIW--she's outside basking right now. I put her out yesterday as well.

Should I keep her out of the tank for a few days? I can soak her and bask her daily that way. Once she's in the tank--she's in for good as it has a top on it to prevent a child from falling in and drowning.

Thanks Steve for responding.

Looks like she just needs a good shed and there is some evidence of retained scutes. Otherwise from the pictures it looks pretty normal. You can try a hour or two soak in a bucket of water just deep enough to cover her shell and a table spoon of salt just in case of fungus.

When you put her outside in the sun make sure she has a shady spot to retreat too if she gets too hot.

What her diet like?

I'm glad to hear that she is fairly normal looking.

Her diet consists of Reptomin pellets; jello shots; and red or green leaf lettuce--all on a regular rotating basis. Occasionally she receives kale and other leafy greens and the very occasional piece of fruit; 1-2 times/year I buy her a dozen rosy red minnows.

When sunning her--how long in the sun is beneficial? Does it matter if there is cloud cover?

If the shedding is taking a long time, I'd go over the shell gently and look for anything unusual. Maybe do a soft scrub and check for any discoloration or pits in the shell. I can't definitively says theres fungus from the pics because it could just be heavy shedding as devilduck described.

I'd also rotate her pellets... Mazuri, Omega One and a little wheat germ would be good too.

When she basks, it's up to her how long she wants too. A few hours would be great. If she's outside, she will still get UVB in the shade.

Thanks for the tips regarding her pellets. I'll be sure to pick up those other brands and start rotating.

Since I took that pic late last week--several more segments have come of. She's about 25% shed now. I basked her on Thurs, Fri and Sat and then returned her to her tank in the greenhouse. I'll work out a way to pull her out and bask her more often. We are back into freezing weather--so she's stuck in the greenhouse for a few more days.