Should my red ear slider turtle be eating its own old pieces of shell?

Question

Its a girl, and she is about four years old now, but I have never seen her eat her shell like she has been doing recently. She eats the old piece of shell that she has grown out of.

Answer 1

No she shouldn't be eating her own shell!

Answer 2

I have been voulnteering with a local wildlife center for 14 years and have a lot of experience with all turtles, including the red and yellow eared sliders.
Your turtle does not shed it shell. It grows with the turtle. There is something seriousley wrong with your turtle as it should not be eating pieces of its shell.
Your turtle should be eating leafy greens like romane lettuce, (no iceberg lettuce as it is mostly water based and will cause very loose stools), collard greens, turnip greens and yes they do eat meal worms. You also should have a calcium supplement added to its diet. You can also purchase turtle pellets for acquatic turtles, as it has a lot of the vitamins and mineral your turtle needs. Also you need to have a UVB light over the top of its tank turned on during the day, then off at night. The UVB lights can be purchased at a local pet store and they also provide the nutrients they would normally get when they are in the wild.
By all means, take your turtle to a vet who specializes in reptiles and have it examined to see what is wrong with it. Good Luck.

Answer 3

I own several red eared sliders that are housed in a 180 gallon tank. I notice that during certain times a year my turtles do seem to shed parts of there shell. Normally the top half of there shell. If you have shell parts floating in your tank then you need to clean it more often. Get a fish tank net and just scoop floating debris out of the tank. I have had my red eared sliders for about 10 years now and when I first saw the shell sheddings floating in my tank I brought my turtles to the vets. Low and behold cost me $480.00 to have a vet tell me nothing was wrong just to give them alittle more UVB light during the day. Good luck

Answer 4

I dont know anything about turtles eating their shells remanance. but I do know that excessive shell shedding can be due to lack of dry land/sun lamp...if its not given adequate land to dry the shell will peel alot. That or it could me he's getting to much nutrition via pellets and such. Since yours is 4 years old he should be eating pellets roughly every 3 days. Everyone that I have talked to read about has had a turtle that has shed (res at least). I havent seen mine shed yet (yellow bellied slider). Try asking in a forum specialized in turtles...I go to this site...

www.turtletimes.com

Otherwise just call a local vet or petstore that handle or sell turtles. They may have come across this situation before. Its possible she doesnt realize its her shell...some turltes even eat small pebbles thinking its food.

Answer 5

Everyone pay attention!!! A red eared slider will lose the old layer of the top of each section of their shell. It is just like a piece of our fingernail. Same stuff. She is merely eating it for extra protein and there is nothing wrong with her. To the vet tech, go back to school!!!

Answer 6

Turtles do shed their scutes ( the individual "scales" on their shell). Usually when reptiles eat their shed, it is because they are needing the extra calcium. A check up at the vet might be a good idea:) good luck!

Answer 7

I have a lot of turtles and I had one shed the top part of his shell and a beautiful layer underneath would come out as the dead top part came off as he grew. He never ate his shell though. He probably isn't getting something he needs.

Answer 8

You may not want him in the tank with your other fish. I'd contact the store you purchased him at and bring him back. Get a refund. You have an unusual mix of fish. I assume you mean tiger barb. Usually they don't mix well with gold fish. Don't let one un-healthy turtle cause you trouble with the others. Good luck

Answer 9

A lot of reptiles eat their sheddings, but this might suggest that their diet is not quite what it should be- especially calcium.

Try http://www.redearslider.com for ideas/

Answer 10

Are you sure?
Turtles don't shed shells. They grow with the animal in layers and rings, like trees.
Either you don't have, and never had, a turtle or yours is so very sick it needs a vet. It's probably gonna die.
Cheers.

Answer 11

she needs calcium !!!talk with your vet and ask him how much drops your turtle need....
also you must give vitamin a !!! it is very important too !!!
do not forget giving uva ( 12 hs a day )...
please go to a vet and ask !!!
( your turtle can die without all these )
from Argentina.
cheers !