redearslider.com

I have a uvb and bulb set up. It chills there every day for hours, but just wont shed quickly. A lot of the top layer is at least 1/2 falling off. Anyway to speed up the process?

Everyone puts pics of their turtles in the photo gallery and they r so colorful. my res is brown with lots of old layers

it just takes awhile for them to shed sometimes. whatever you do dont pull any scutes off. just let them fall off. you can offer some foods high in vitamin e like blueberries or apple skins but be careful how much you give since they have sugar

Scutes are better left alone. I find that the proper temps help a great deal. Water at 77 to 78 and the basking at about 90 to 91 degrees are good. A proper diet with extra calcium is also helpful. It is like watching water boil!! Let them fall off naturally or you can cause some damage to his carapace and could cause an infection. b.

Another good source of vitamin e is steamed sweet potato. I mention it because turtles love it so much. But high in sugar so have to limit it somewhat. Tomatoes also have some vitamin e.

How long does it normally take for a turtle to shed his scutes? When should you start worrying that it is taking too long?

My guy has been in the process for a while now (over a month), but I just found this board and after reading advice, have installed a heater in his set-up and moved it to the window so he can get a little sun during the day (In addition to his UVB light). I've also tried giving him apple peels but he seems reluctant to eat them. He'll eat little apple chunks, though.

(Feed Me) Seymore's scutes wont come off at all. I know he has several layers that wont come off and I know he basks for a long time every day. I cannot get him to eat anything but shrimp or pellets.

What can I do if he is such a picky eater?

If he's otherwise healthy, hold off on the pellets and shrimp for a few days and only offer veggies. He'll get hungry enough to try them sooner or later. You can also try zoologist's jello shot recipe, it's been a big hit with picky turtles. Quit feeding the shrimp entirely, they're very high in protien and don't offer much nutition otherwise.

Yes, shrimp/krill should ONLY ONLY ONLY be offered as occasional "treats." I nearly killed my turtle by feeding him only shrimp. Stop with the shrimp. He won't starve. Switch immediately to a pellet/veggie diet or you'll cause permanent damage to your turtle.

My red eared slider is retaining scutes too. I have only seen him shed once and its been 4 years since I bought him as a hatchling... Its getting really bad and his shell is all splotchy with white patches (not fuzzy or anything) it looks kind of like a splotchy bleach accident with little pinpricks and smears. Im not sure if its some sort of shell rot and it seems to be underneath the top layer of scutes as well. Can anyone help me?
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... G_5666.jpg
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... G_5656.jpg
http://i1058.photobucket.com/albums/t40 ... G_5653.jpg

I always see picture of other red eared sliders with such nice smooth shells and I feel so guilty...

It looks like fungus. What's your setup like?

You can also try Blueberries, they have been said to help with shell development. Also if the shell has some kind of fungus or algae growing in between them it be causing them to bond similar to glue. I've read you can use a soft bristle toothbrush to massage the areas and try to clean them to help the scutes release.

Leave the scutes alone I made the mistake of peeling the scutes off my turtle when I first got him and it just prolonged his shedding and made his shell looks worse. Try blueberries as a small treat and some people say Wheat germ pellets help, I don't know if its all in my head but I noticed some scute lifting and loosening when I started giving ranger some.

My vet told me to 1. Dry dock a full 24hrs every week. 2. Use a toothbrush to "scrub" her and 3. I can elect to use olive or canola oil also on her shell. I know she looks 100% better to shed affter 1totthbrush bath!! Will try blueberries too. Sounds yummy.

Ranger, when you say Wheat Germ Pellets, are these the ones that are given to Koi?

I'm not him and this is an old thread, but yes... the Koi pellets.