General Care Discussion :: Turtle shedding and not eating

[Megturtle5]

Hi, I need help with my turtle!

I have a red ear slider turtle who is about 5-7 years old and is a decent sized turtle. I have him in a special turtle tank made for his size and the size of the tank seems to be fine. He has a rock that he can go and a light that is on almost all the time. The tank has an external filter. Recently i noticed some excessive shedding going on all on his legs and even his neck. There is also what looks to be white skin hanging from his mouth that he keeps swatting at. His eyes normally have a film ( the other eyelid) when he sleeps but now it seems to just pop up at random times. I also noticed that he hasnt been eating i put food in and he didnt jump to eat it and 20 min later it still hadnt been eatten. My plan is to remove him from the tank into clean water while i clean the tank and put warm water, is there anything else that should be done?

Megan

[Samuel T Jackson]

Shedding can be related to water quality (and having lots of floating dead skin in the tank can worsen that water quality!), but it also happens when the temperature rises. If you're moving the tank around anyway, see if there's a spot in the house that might be cooler (but not too cold--in front of an air conditioner or something is too extreme). Also look into adding an air pump and air stone, or positioning a fan so it blows across the tank (both of these can cool water by a couple to a few degrees). I haven't heard of shedding from the mouth though... could that be mucus or something? Uploading pictures would help people identify the shedding (making sure it isn't fungus), but I'm not sure I could spot the difference personally.

There's a list of questions under "Urgent Care" that help people evaluate your setup; it would be good to answer those here (I copied it below). For example, what kind of light does the turtle have (does it have UV rays)? It probably doesn't need to be on all the time (usually 10-12 hours is recommended), and that could be making his tank hotter, causing more shedding.

About the eyes: is he blinking a lot, or are his eyes opening when he seems to be asleep? If it's blinking, that could be another water quality issue; their eyes can get irritated by chlorine that's automatically found in tap water. Again, filling out the list below will let people know what changes you can make to tank maintenance for the future.


How big is your turtle?
How long have you had it?

What is the water temperature?
Did you use a thermometer?
Are you using a water heater?
How much water is in there?
Are you using a water conditioner?
Are you using any filtration?

What is the basking temperature?
Is there a basking light?
Is there a basking platform that is easy to climb on?
What kind is it or what is it made out of?
Is there a UVB light?

What have you been trying to feed it?
When was the last time your turtle ate?

How big is the tank/pond/enclosure?
Is the tank near a window?
Is the tank in a room with a lot of activity?

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

Is there any other unusual activity/symptoms?