Johanna R.
New Member
I have a RES named Moses, who is approx 1.5 years old. We’ve had him since he was TINY (a hatchling about the size of a half dollar). We did not plan on raising a turtle, he literally fell out of the sky. We were in our backyard and he landed on the ground (soft grass) at my husband’s feet! We’re guessing he was dropped by a crow flying overhead, since sliders are a favorite treat of those obnoxious birds
Since we’ve had him, he has done very well and is growing nicely, or what I imagine is nicely since I’ve never had a turtle before. He’s now approximately 4” in length.
However, over the past 3-4 days, I’ve noticed a filmy/peeling condition in the grooves between his scutes. Not sure if this is some type of fungus/bacteria or just the beginning of a shedding stage. We haven’t experienced shedding yet so I’m quite unsure how that typically goes. Please help! I have absolutely ZERO long-term turtle experience and am learning as I go with this little guy.
He is behaving normally, his usual spunky self, eating regularly, basking the same length of time every day (a few hours), his water and basking temps have been consistently 77* and 94* degrees respectively, he doesn’t stink and his shell is firm, shows no signs of injury, his colors are vibrant and his eyes are clear...I’m at a loss. He resides in a 75 gal tank with plenty of room to swim, 2 appropriately sized basking areas with UVA/UVB (10.0) lamps, a “cave” to hide in, a TetraFauna Aquatic Reptile Heater (100w) with built-in thermostat, a penn-plax 600 canister filter, and crystal clear conditioned purified water that is about 8” deep. He has 2 little fish friends, neon tetras, who he plays with but has never tried to eat. I just want to make sure he hasn’t contracted some sort of weird “funk” that will affect his health.
TYIA!
Since we’ve had him, he has done very well and is growing nicely, or what I imagine is nicely since I’ve never had a turtle before. He’s now approximately 4” in length.
However, over the past 3-4 days, I’ve noticed a filmy/peeling condition in the grooves between his scutes. Not sure if this is some type of fungus/bacteria or just the beginning of a shedding stage. We haven’t experienced shedding yet so I’m quite unsure how that typically goes. Please help! I have absolutely ZERO long-term turtle experience and am learning as I go with this little guy.
He is behaving normally, his usual spunky self, eating regularly, basking the same length of time every day (a few hours), his water and basking temps have been consistently 77* and 94* degrees respectively, he doesn’t stink and his shell is firm, shows no signs of injury, his colors are vibrant and his eyes are clear...I’m at a loss. He resides in a 75 gal tank with plenty of room to swim, 2 appropriately sized basking areas with UVA/UVB (10.0) lamps, a “cave” to hide in, a TetraFauna Aquatic Reptile Heater (100w) with built-in thermostat, a penn-plax 600 canister filter, and crystal clear conditioned purified water that is about 8” deep. He has 2 little fish friends, neon tetras, who he plays with but has never tried to eat. I just want to make sure he hasn’t contracted some sort of weird “funk” that will affect his health.
TYIA!