Urgent Care :: shedding shell? UPDATE

[famouslastwords]

How big is your turtle? Almost two inches.
How long have you had it? About a month.

What is the water temperature? 78 degrees
Are you using a water heater? Yes.
How much water is in there? About 2/3rds full.
Are you using a water conditioner? Yes.
Are you using any filtration? Yes.

What is the basking temperature? Not sure.
Is there a basking light? Yes.
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on? Yes.
What kind is it or what is it made out of? It’s a turtle dock…?
Is there a UVB light? Yes.

What have you been trying to feed it? I feed him/her Reptomin pellets, and have tried krill, apple, carrot, romaine lettuce, and he has cuttle bone.
When was the last time your turtle ate? This morning.

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure? 20 gallons.
Is the tank near a window? Close enough.
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity? Moderate.

Have you read the Basic Care section? Yes.
Have you searched the forums for similar situations? Yes.

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms? I think his shell is shedding, I don’t know if there is anything wrong with that based off of his size. But its like there is a shrunken layer of shell over top of his new shell, and on his belly, underneath the old shell, it looks pinkish orange… I don’t know what is wrong.

So any advice you guys have for me would be really appreciated, thank you!

[turtledudee]

the top part is shedding, idk about the plastron.

[grey goose]

I can't make out the coloring on the plastron (bottom) but the overall shape of it looks odd, it should be smooth and relatively flat. You may be overfeeding him.......

[famouslastwords]

well i'll fix that. i should be feeding him what, three pellets a day?

it looks bumpy kinda...or with ridges, because he is shedding, i think. it's flat otherwise.

and as for the coloring, it's a darker color around the outer part of the plastron.

[grey goose]

If you look closely, you'll notice the lighter color follows or trails the actual markings. I'd say it's OK, maybe just growing too fast (overfeeding).
Feed him pellets every other day, about the amount that would fit inside his head if it were hollow. Krill should be a rare treat (too much protein). Veggies and cuttlebone every day. Check the stickys in the Feeding and Nutrition section for more info....

[famouslastwords]

oh thank you! buuuut i forgot to mention that on the top shell, the area around his tail is kind of flexible.

[grey goose]

No biggie, he's still young. Make sure he gets cuttlebone every day....just don't try to pick or force those peeling scutes off, let them come off on their own.....

[marisa]

He's literally bustin' out of that plastron, and is going to shed on top as well. the areas you circled on the plastron (the ones that are more yellowish than pink) are the old scutes. Some of those bottom scutes look like they'd come off pretty easily. I have "helped" my turtles loose some of their scutes when they've been shedding, but if there's any resistance, I leave them alone.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

He's literally bustin' out of that plastron, and is going to shed on top as well. the areas you circled on the plastron (the ones that are more yellowish than pink) are the old scutes. Some of those bottom scutes look like they'd come off pretty easily. I have "helped" my turtles loose some of their scutes when they've been shedding, but if there's any resistance, I leave them alone.

I never knew they shed theyre plastron..

[xsavingsaturdayx]

well i'll fix that. i should be feeding him what, three pellets a day?

it looks bumpy kinda...or with ridges, because he is shedding, i think. it's flat otherwise.

and as for the coloring, it's a darker color around the outer part of the plastron.

hey just thought id point this out,if you look close you can see that theyre is some pink in the seams,am i the only one who notices it?

[famouslastwords]

no, ive noticed that too, i cut back on his food considerably but i dont know what else to do.

[xsavingsaturdayx]

If you press down on it,does the pink color disapear and come back almost instantly? If so i heard somewhere that it means that theyre is blood,but im not sure.My turtles had the same thing yours had minus the pink in the seams.My vet said it was from lack of beneficial vitamins and UVB,he also said that city water can tinge turtles shell.


Some foods like shrimp can tinge the shell too,and overfeeding like greygoose said.

[marisa]

To me, the plastron looks pink from eating a lot and fast growth. Pooling blood is a bit different.

[famouslastwords]

i'd say... i only fed him krill maybe twice, it smells terrible so i threw them out.

im trying to get more veggies in there, carrots and romaine, and pellets every second day.

so i am assuming that this will go away with time if i stop overfeeding him?

[Kallistos]

RES are very hardy and can bounce back from almost everything. I see no reason that your turtle won't make a full recovery if you provide him or her with the required nutrition. Give it a few months and it should all go away.