Reptile & Amphibian Forums

About a foot away from my turtle dock I have a 60w red light for my res to bask under. For the first month I'd catch them basking and be completely out of the water. Now when I see them they are half in the water and half out. Is this ok? There are two about and inch in a 29 gal tank. The water temp is between 77-80. I have the uvb and uva rays. Filtered. They are both shedding(I can see some skin hanging off their necks and legs). They eat a variety of greens dandilion, red leaf lettuce, carrots, etc. Also some fruits. Also they get their protien daily because about 3 months ago I recieved them as hatchlings. Just trying to make sure they are ok. Thanks.

If they are only 3 months old how big are they? The adolencent turtles tend to be more carnivorous, they progressively convert to more herbivorous when they get larger. It sounds okay to me, they might just be afraid. I rarely catch my 2 basking, but alot of times I turn around from my computer and one shoots into the water. Just watch for exessive basking.

The basking is fine, the shedding is not. You should never be able to see the skin shedding, if it is it is a sign of overfeeding or poor water quality.
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Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

I don't see the skin on their shell shedding just on their bodies. Tiny pieces that have not yet detatched. I only feed them enough protien fill their head. Like I said I also feed greens. I do half a water change every week. Every other week I completely empty my water. I also use the zoo med reptisafe to condition the water. I have a duetto filter which seems to be working ok. When I received them as hatchlings they were about one inch across the shell. Now they are just about the same. Maybe an 1 1/4. I was advised to feed them protien everyday because of their age. Should I maybe stop and just do everyother day? thanks for any advice.

Feeding everyday is fine if they are young, you might want to feed 2 or even 3 times a day, but small amount of course. Watch how much protien you are feeding though. To much protien at a young age can cause shell deformities.

Shell shedding would be fine and normal, it is the skin shedding that is bad. Your water temp could be too high also. Overfeeding causes shell and organ problems. How big are your turtles? I had to cut mine back to just getting protein twice a week, and they have been fine and healthy for 5 years. They are about 5 inches long now. They were about two inches long when I cut them back from daily protein. They get greens and aquatic plants daily and seem happy.
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Mom to:

1 little boy born 7/19/04
2 male RES, born 2001
1 ribbon snake, age unknown
3 FBT, ages unknown
1 female bearded dragon, born 5/2002
1 male lab mix, born 5/24/03
1 female calico cat, born 6/7/04

Looking back at some photos I have they were actually about 1 1/4 - 1 1/2 inc. across the shell. I have just measured them and they are about 1 3/4 in. I will try lessening the protien to see if that helps. How big are hatchlings supposed to be?

as far as i know... turtles are only supposed to grow like an inch a year... so that might help you decide if they are growing too fast or not!
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~ Evie

Pets:
RIP 0.1.0 German Shepherd {Dusty}
0.1.0 German Shepherd/Collie mix {Shadoe}
0.0.2 RES turtles {Booger & Snot}
1.0.0 African Clawed Frog {Bingo}
0.0.2 Snail {Gary & Larry}

I have only had them for three months and they have grown about a quarter of and inch. What size are hatchling turtles? Like I said mine looking back at pictures were about 1 1/2 inches across the shell. Thanks for all of the replies.