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Hi! Patty is about 4 years old and is clearly shedding. But does her shell look healthy as it sheds? She basks often and is fed every other day or so, alternating between dried river shrimp, pellets & romaine lettuce.

It's a little hard to tell from the picture, but it seems like the middle of the scutes are still pretty firmly attached to the shell, while the edges are coming off. My little guy had a shed that was kind of like that. I found that gently brushing his shell with a soft, baby toothbrush helped him finish the shed more quickly.

Not great but not bad either. Looks like several growth layers... has she been overfed? Or doesn't bask enough?

I've been brushing her shell with water and a soft toothbrush occasionally, but not sure if I should do more. She basks quite often and eats the equivalent of 2-3 pellets every other day to every two days. I alternate between the pellets, small dried river shrimp [I only give her one], and romaine lettuce.

You don't need to brush unless the shell is dirty or has algae on it. I'd cut out the shrimp. What kind of pellets are you using? Does she have a UVB light? How often does she go out?

Thanks for the advice on the shrimp! I'll definitely cut it out.

She eats ReptoMin Floating Food Sticks w/ Calcium & Vitamin D (one ingredient is shrimp meal). The lamp she was basking under since I've had her (Sept. 2016) just went out and was something I inherited so it may not have been UVB, but I just replaced it with a UVA/UVB Fluorescent Bulb. Before I could replace the bulb, I was taking her outside for some sunlight once a day (this was only for about 2 days).

Is it true that feeding her blueberries might help her shed?

ReptoMin is OK, but maybe change it up once in a while. Omega One is highly regarded. If you can take her out regularly, then you don't need a UVB lamp but you still need a basking lamp.

The blueberry thing is unproven, but it couldn't hurt either.

Can she bask under a UVB lamp?

Yes, thats the best place for it. But you need a bulb (either separate or combo) that also produces heat. That entices them to bask and allows them to thermoregulate.