I hate to be an OT guy and clutter the kingsnake forum with turtle stuff, but the turtle forums are super dead and I know several of you guys keep turtles and might be able to help.
About 1 month ago I rescued an adult male red-ear slider from some bad conditions. It was in a 20gal with filthy water (filter hadn't been changed in over 2 years), no basking spot, ate nothing but 1 type of pellet, and the water was about 68 degrees day and night year round.
Upon getting the turtle i gave it a quick inspection (i'm a snake guy, not a turtle guy so i din't really know what i was looking for) and it seemed surprizingly healthy... clear eyes, strong legs, and hard shell. I did notice that all of the segments of the shell looked like 9-10 layers of segments stacked upon each other which i thought was weird... gave me the impression that as the turtle grew it never shed any of the shell segments and they were several layers stuck together.
I got the turtle home, put it in a 40 gal with aged and dechlorinated water, brand new 75 gal filter, turtle dock with basking light. Water temps are at 75-76 day and night, basking spot on the dock is at 90, and I turn on a full spectrum bulb for a few hours every couple of days.
The turtle is full of energy and swims about 80% of the time and basks about 20%. However he's shedding scales like crazy... every day there is another shell segment at the bottom of the tank. Also, he won't eat any type of turtle pellets but will eat a few crickets on occasion and has eaten one small piece of lettuce.
What should i do about his picky eating habbits and more importantly what is going on with the shedding?
any info will be appreciated.
-----
1.1 Argentine Boas
1.1 Dumerils Boas
1.1 Black Milk Snakes
2.3 California King Snakes
1.1 Nelsons Milk Snakes
2.2 Corn Snakes
