I have had my turtle for about 7 months now and he has been doing great. Recently I noticed that the underside of his shell has been peeling a little bit, but yesterday it was like the 1st layer was all coming off and hanging just about off. He still seems perfectly fine....is he just shedding?? Or is there something I should be worried about, other than that he's acting perfectly normal.
I don't want to take him to the vet if this is normal, please help
2007-09-13 02:12:09 · 5 answers · asked by fairylover 4 in Pets ➔ Reptiles
Its normal.Make sure to give him a little x-tra vitamins at this time and help his shell with a little turtle wax from the pet shop.
2007-09-13 03:00:32 · answer #1 · answered by Spinning Times LLC 3 · 3⤊ 0⤋
Skin shedding:
A little peeling occasionally is fine. Turtles shed their skin like
other reptiles, but more continuously. Mine usually shed more for a
while, then less or not at all. As long as the shed sking is thin
and tranlucent, and you don't see anything unusual on the skin, and
the shedding is not excessive, don't worry. If the shedding is continuous,
or the skin looks sore or red, or the shedding is very heavy, you may
have to deal with a skin fungus. Have your turtle checked by a veterinarian.
You may also soak the turtle in an idodine solution twice a day for
15 minutes and keep it warm and dry outside the water overnight for a while
2007-09-13 11:31:22 · answer #2 · answered by Sarah I 2 · 1⤊ 1⤋
A normal shed is paper-thin, translucent, and the skin underneath looks, feels, and smells normal.
If it is not a normal shed, then it is possibly shell rot.
If it IS a normal shed, then things might be OK...
However- you really should not see shedding very often. If you can see it then the turtle may be stressed. I always recommend reviewing the cares at a good site like http://www.austinsturtlepage.com to make sure things are OK.
2007-09-13 13:41:33 · answer #3 · answered by Madkins007 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Not sure I have never experienced it with my turtle. I have had him for 10 years. Just call the vet and ask them. Let them know that you are not wanting to bring him in but you just wanted to know if this normal.
2007-09-13 02:20:36 · answer #4 · answered by jen 4 · 3⤊ 0⤋
I had three turtles and they all did that. There would be flakes of its shell shaped exactly how the pattern on its shell looked. So im pretty sure its normal.
2007-09-13 02:17:42 · answer #5 · answered by AZ 2 · 3⤊ 0⤋