Hi everyone. My turtle, Luke, has been shedding for quite a while. (I even made a topic back in October 2014.) Mainly I just want to make sure he's still healthy and shedding his scutes normally. I have recently changed his pellets to Hikari-Saki (link). I try to feed him carrots every other week, though he rarely takes a bite. The same with romaine lettuce; he seems to ignore it.
It is now sunny and warm in my area, ranging from 20°C to 32°C. A few weeks ago, I put Luke in a dry tub and took him outside to get some sun. This was his first time outside -- in direct sunlight -- since I got him in July 2013. He seemed a little scared, so I brought him back inside after 5-7 minutes of basking. I noticed his scutes started popping up (like in the photos below). Remembering that, I decided to take him outside today. This time, I put him in his old tank (dry). He wasn't as scared as before, so I decided to let him bask for a longer duration. This was for approximately 20 minutes before I took him back inside. One of his scutes -- his very first -- did fall off (image here).
I've included links to images of the top and bottom of his shell.
Top of the shell:
Near the tail
Side of the shell
Side of the shell 2
Bottom of the shell:
Side, between the front and back feet
Whole bottom shell
Close-up of bottom shell
After being under the sun, his scutes look ready to come off. I lightly pulled at a few of the top-side scutes, to see if they would come off, but the edges don't seem ready yet.
Was it a good or a bad idea to take Luke outside to bask for a short time? Would it help to continue letting him bask outside (10-15 minutes each or every other day) for his shell shedding?
