Turtle Scutes help

[Caleb139]

I've had my Eastern Paint for almost four years. She hasn't been shedding her scutes regularly in quite some time. I've taken her to my local vet several times who gives her a clean bill of health and tells me she will shed soon. Today, I had her out, checking her scutes to see if any are loose. I  touched the corner of one and it fell off. Which is great, except I'm not sure if too much came off or not. It seems some more scutes are close to falling off too but I didn't want to pick them off at the risk of hurting her. She seems to act fine. Anyone have any ideas? Thanks. 

[TucsonTurtleGirl]

Welcome to this site! Aquatic turtles do need to shed scutes like little kids need larger shoes. This is a natural growing process. Turtles can get retained scutes when they don't shed as soon as they should/might. It looks like the scute that was shed is in great shape. The underneath scute is not a "bright and shiny" as I have seen in other turtles' pictures, but this could change over time. 

You are absolutely right NOT to peel off the scutes. They should fall off of their own accord. You can safely brush the shell GENTLY with a very, very soft toothbrush. Take care not to force any of the scutes off. Some turtles actually love to have their shells brushes, say once or twice a week. Others absolutely hate, so if yours doesn't like it, then don't brush him.

You can get some Hikari Koi Wheat Germ pellets to supplement his food with. This can really help with shell conditioning and scute shedding. Just do not get any shell products from the pet store as these will trap bacteria between the product and shell which can cause problems. 

You might also want to google the care sheets for eastern paints to see that all requirements for a healthy turtle are met in your tank. These care sheets give you a great amount of details. Very helpful.

And sometimes, turtles are know to eat their scutes, too! Just in case you wonder where one of them might have gone!

It's really great that you have a good vet to rely upon.

Let us know how it goes.

Best wishes.

[Caleb139]

Thanks a lot. I appreciate the nformative answer given. I feel a lot better about it and will be watching carefully to make sure she is still shedding them with no issues. Another part popped off shortly after I posted this and she still seems fine.