Urgent Care :: Turtle shell - uhh

[TehTurtleNewb]

I got this turtle from a friend a about a month ago. She said his previous owner kept him in a small area with a pool barely big enough to get in.. I was also informed he is something like 7 years old. I've kept him in a 55 gallon with 50 gallons filled and he's use to swimming now and can climb onto his basking platform. He has a lot of UVB support and I have basically only been feeding him pellets. Is this too much protein? I've put kale in once and he liked it and have had an anacharis plant he ate so he has a good diet. He basks a lot and is active, isn't shy to anyone unless out of water. Really cool turtle except for he wont get along with my RES and his shell is shedding A LOT and is starting to turn blackish in areas I feel like I should take him somewhere but is there anything you guys could suggest before I do that?

[steve]

Give him even less pellets and make veggies (red leaf, dandelions) part of his daily diet. How long is he? Do a gentle scrub with a new, soft toothbrush. See if t hose scutes are lifting. Don't force any off but see which ones are loose. When you pick him out of the water and press against those scutes, does water seep out?

[Kansasslider]

What kind of turtle is it?

[TehTurtleNewb]

I brushed him gently last night and found a dead scute at the bottom of the tank this morning. One of the third lateral scutes is free, it's the first one i've seen come off so that's a good sign. I'm feeding him more greens too. I was told he's a mississippi map turtle but he doesn't have the spikes? I don't know if that's because of malnutrition or he just isn't a mississippi map lol.His shell is 3 inches long and when I take him out of his tank and press down on his shedding scutes water does seep out. Hope the picture helps

[Kansasslider]

In the first picture I thought by its tail it was a Mississippi map but now I'm not so sure? The face and eyes don't look the same not to mention the shell. I will go do some research. I think its a Northern/common Map turtle.

[TehTurtleNewb]

You're right, common map turtle looks like a perfect fit. He's gnawing on some kale right now because I couldn't find any of the recommended food types. The walmart near me didn't have dandelion greens or even red leaf lettuce. I plan to give his shell a nice scrub with the toothbrush every other night and find some decent greens to offer him daily so I can cut back on the sticks. Any other suggestions?

[Kansasslider]

Funny enough my map won't eat any veggies except carrots sometimes.

[Kansasslider]

It looked like this one.