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Urs4everafter   GodsGirl4ever   Brandnew.   Urs4everafter   Firebellied man   Imderanged  
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 #2080429


Urs4everafter
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 RES Shell Issues

I’ve tried to take at least 100 pictures of this dude and EVERYONE of them are fuzzy!!! So here is the best one I could get.



So my lil guy is almost 3 years old and pretty big for its age (not sure if its a boy or a girl yet). I’ve noticed that when I clean out the tank, I’m never seeing any shedded scutes!! It looks like he needs to shed really bad but there’s a lot of discoloration (whiteness) around most of his back scutes (almost like some kind of calcium build up). The discolored areas are not mooshy, slimy or smelly but it seems to be getting worse as it gets older. You can even tell from the middle scute on the very top of his back (in the pic) that he still has scutes from when he was itty bitty. Some of the scutes by the tail are peeling a little bit but I’m just concerned about shell rot occuring. Can anyone tell me what this looks like to them and, if it is just him needing to shed really bad, what can I do to help this along? He eats lots of greens which I heard helps with shedding and I have a great basking area and UBV light to help with vitamins and calcium. There is also one of those turtle calcium bones for chewing on. I’m really concerned and can’t find a vet that looks a turtles!! Help please!!!
10/05/09  03:37am

 #2080544


GodsGirl4ever
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   Message To: Urs4everafter   In reference to Message Id: 2080429


 RES Shell Issues

He has shell rot..one of my turtles devolped it also. It can be deadly, so you need to buy something for it. If you go to petsmart/petco they’ll have something for it..i can’t remember the name but if you ask them i’m sure they’ll help you.
10/05/09  03:27pm

 #2081026


Brandnew.
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   Message To: GodsGirl4ever   In reference to Message Id: 2080544


 RES Shell Issues

godsgirl4ever : incorrect. lol.

that is not shell rot. nope. he has just had some trouble shedding. i have a lot of turtles with this problem which i got from a rescue centre... not 100% sure what causes it.
shell rot is recognisable by soft spots, that are smelly and look like they are ’rotting’ . hence the name.

pretty much what they said it DIDNT HAVE! lol. they bascially ruled out shell rot themselfs... its not shell rot.

have you tried removing the scutes ? if they are lose enough to be removed with ease then do it. i removed a lotof them and the turtle look much better, if they are properly stuck dont.

i think it has somthing to do with rappid growth at a young age. all my turtles that i have had from a young age havnt had a problem with this, only rescues.

also no offence but godsgirl4ever kinda creeps me out...



10/06/09  04:38pm

 #2082321


Urs4everafter
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   Message To: Brandnew.   In reference to Message Id: 2081026


 RES Shell Issues

OMG!! Thank you brandnew.!!! I totally almost started crying when I read the 1st reply!! I was pretty sure it wasn’t shell rot but I wanted more opinions about it. Some of the scutes have been looking like they are lose but I’ve been scared to pull them off, incase of not-readiness. More recently I have been using a toothbrush to lightly scrub him down which seems to be helping a lil with losening the old ones up. I have noticed that my turtle is pretty big in reference to other turtles, for only being 3 years old. Here’s a lil info about the tank temps - water temp is 73.6 on the basking side and 70 on the non-basking side (isn’t there supposed to be a bigger difference in the water temp on the different sides? i have one of the long/wide and short 40gal tanks specifically for aquatic turtles) and his basking area is sitting at about 81...ive read in some places that the basking area only needs to be 10 degrees warmer than the water and others saying that 90-95 was the best temp. which would u suggest the temp be sitting at? and i dont have a water heater currently but was wanting to get one. should i? and if i do will it heat ALL of the water up or will it just warm up the basking area side if i keep it on that side??
10/09/09  08:47pm

 #2082331


Firebellied man
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   Message To: Urs4everafter   In reference to Message Id: 2082321


 RES Shell Issues

You can use Vita Shell for turtles. That’s what my brother used.
10/09/09  09:29pm

 #2082387


Imderanged
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   Message To: Firebellied man   In reference to Message Id: 2082331


 RES Shell Issues

I don’t think it looks like shell rot either, just really needs a shed. I was told Blueberries are high in vitamins that assist in shedding. Too much sugar for them to have a ton of blueberries, but just a couple are a nice treat. I saw an improvement in shedding when I went from compact fluorescents to Mercury vapor bulbs as well.
10/10/09  02:02am


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