Please oh please tell me that lemon is just peeling some skin

[moswen]

What do you think? I know torts peel on their heads sometimes but I've never had one do it, so....! Just making sure

 

[dav3]

hey yes your lemon is just peeling some skin so dont worry
are you giving it calcium and how much per week ?

 

[bikerchicspain]

Is he receiving enough vitamins?

I would bathe in in Luke warm water.
I am not to familiar with lemons so I will leave the diagnosis to someone who is.....

 

[moswen]

Okay thanks guys!

 

[Madkins007]

If I saw that on a Red-foot, I would be concerned, but I am less familiar with this species. The normal shedding is done in small, almost unnoticed flakes. Larger areas can indicate stress, vitamin issues, etc.

 

[Tim/Robin]

I am with Mark on this one. I have never seen any of my hatchlings or adults shed like that. I don't know what to suggest. Take a good look at all you are doing. Is everything 100%? How is her weight? How is her behavior?

 

[tortoisenerd]

Some peeling is definitely normal, but to me, that almost looks like someone picked at the peeling skin to create a large area? Picking at it is a bad thing to do. I am used to seeing smaller peeling patches on my Russian, not one big ones. Soaks can help. Hard to tell if this is in the normal range. If no one picked at it, maybe the tort is scraping the neck on its shell more than typical? Sorry, not familiar with the breed. Has a Vitamin A shot been given? Do you supplement vitamins? I'm thinking out of the box that a slight overdose was given. Just throwing ideas out without much information. I don't see any immediate cause for worry, but I'd want to consult with someone familiar with this breed to see if they have seen this (if none of the things anyone said here sounds like it). Good luck!

 

[moswen]

Aaaahhhhh! This is Not what I want to hear guys. No, i haven't been picking and no vitamin shots. I give powdered calcium and powdered vitamins at every feeding, I make up my own "spring mix" in plastic shoe boxes with greens from the store, then I sprinkle in calcium with vit d3 and shake up the box, so every leaf has a light dusting of it. Also i top that with fruit or mushrooms, but they never eat the mushrooms. I soak every day, tues and wed sometimes I may not bc I have to be gone by 6:30 so sometimes I don't have enough time, but they have a pretty humid home (~40-50% humidity) so I was not overly concerned with possibly not soaking them once a week. Plus they have constant access to clean water. They seem to be as active as they always have been, hide 80% of the day but come out to bask and eat in the morning. They have a basking heat light and a tube light for their uv requirements...? I'm scared for my little lemon now I thought I was doing a great job.......!

 

[Tim/Robin]

Rebekah,
From the description you have given, there does not sound like there is a problem. I think you are right on with your care. Robin looked at the pictures and thinks it is normal shedding, she says not to worry. I would continue what you are doing and continue to watch her. I think she is likely to be just fine. BTW, her new growth looks awesome!! She is gorgeous!!

 

[Yvonne G]

In my opinion (I know nothing about that specie of tortoise) the skin under the peeled off skin looks bright and healthy. If there were unwarranted peeling, it would be red and inflamed underneath. I think its perfectly ok.

 

[Mao Senpai]

I had something like that with one of my torts... I freaked the heck out and didn't know what to think. Then a few days later everything was fine as if nothing was ever there. Mine have been pretty moist too so I think it might be because of the moisture holding the peeling skin together making it go off in big chunks. Just my thoughts but I think your tort will be fine.

 

[HLogic]

It's perfectly normal... They tend to do that in the spring when they 'revive'. Mine look like a colony of lepers at the moment.

 

[exoticsdr]

Art,...that's very interesting, is this common in spiders?.. Never seen one in the clinic, but would probably be concerned had this one entered.

 

[Tom]

I find it pretty neat that each species has all sorts of little idiosyncrasies that only people who have kept them know about. Glad they are okay.

 

[moswen]

Haha, okay... So I can tell my ulcers it's all good and they can go away now? A light vitamin disting every day is not too much?

Thanks everyone for the replies. So, if everyone thinks lemon is probably okay, is there anything specific that I should be looking for skin or color-wise to show that something may be wrong (along the lines of her peeling skin)?

Thank you again everyone, I feel much better than earlier lol!

 

[HLogic]

They usually go dormant for the entire winter - 4 or more months. During the spring they come alive, eat like crazy and run around like little wind-up toys. The winter accumulation sloughs off relatively soon after they revive. Even the adults I have, particularly the P. planicauda, go through an initial period of rather disheveled appearance.

The shedding shown in the pics is a little heavier than I normally see with mine but I am assuming it is because of what appears to be fairly rapid growth. Otherwise I don't see anything completely out of the ordinary.

Rebekah, you can cut back on the vitamins to probably once or twice a week - depending upon how often you feed them. Additionally, if not already present, provide a humid hide. You can also mist them daily. Although they come from a dry region, it is humid and they tend to hunker down at the base of plants where the humidity is much higher than the surrounding air.

 

[egyptiandan]

I agree with Yvonne and Art. I don't see a thing wrong with whats happening. The only thing I might do different is like Art said to make the enviroment more humid. They go through a bit cooler and dry period and than a very hot and humid period. So it won't hurt to up the temperatures and the humidity.

Danny

 

[exoticsdr]

Oh, I see...the hibernation explains alot...thank you very much... this is why I hang out here, I always learn something.

 

[egyptiandan]

It's not really a hibernation period but an aestivation period as it doesn't get that cold (just cooler than they like it), but does get very dry.

Danny

 

[Maggie Cummings]

Some peeling is definitely normal, but to me, that almost looks like someone picked at the peeling skin to create a large area? Picking at it is a bad thing to do. I am used to seeing smaller peeling patches on my Russian, not one big ones. Soaks can help. Hard to tell if this is in the normal range. If no one picked at it, maybe the tort is scraping the neck on its shell more than typical? Sorry, not familiar with the breed. Has a Vitamin A shot been given? Do you supplement vitamins? I'm thinking out of the box that a slight overdose was given. Just throwing ideas out without much information. I don't see any immediate cause for worry, but I'd want to consult with someone familiar with this breed to see if they have seen this (if none of the things anyone said here sounds like it). Good luck!

If you are not familiar with the "species" you should not offer advice that is not correct and scare the tort keeper. Why would you even think about giving advice on a species that you know nothing about? I also think you have had your one tortoise long enough now to know that tortoises come in species and dogs come in breeds.