This is totally natural and will prepare it for the long sleep ahead. However, a turtle will typically shed much more often right after emerging from hibernation, where it will bask quite often. If your aquarium has a substrate or rocky bottom or has plants, they may be lodged in there somewhere. As turtles get older their shell peeling becomes less conspicuous. And sometimes when it does, there are very real bad reasons for this such as from the list above.
With healthy turtle shell peeling and shedding, the scutes will simply fall off, as a whole usually. And not just from the top of their shells. This is normal. They will come off on their own.
You can tell that a scute is ready to come off when you can very easily peel it off yourself. You should stop immediately and not try to force it off. The easiest way to recognize whether a turtle is shedding its scutes in a healthy, normal fashion is what they look like after they fall off.
Never try to pry a turtle or tortoise shell open though! The muscles holding the shell closed are very strong, and if you try to pry it open you will hurt the animal.
Thankfully, yes! Poor diet and unsanitary tank conditions can cause ulcers on and around the shell. Lack of calcium, not enough sunlight, and many diseases can cause shell abnormalities that can result in shell ulcers, too.
Look for signs of kidney damage, liver disease, and thyroid issues if your tortoise or turtle is developing shell rot. Nature is a wonderful thing. Since tortoise and turtle shells are made of living, organic, natural materials, they have the ability to heal on their own. Just as your broken arm will slowly knit itself back together, a tortoise shell can heal on its own.
As mentioned earlier, even the smallest fracture can leave your pet exposed to dangerous bacteria that can kill him. Veterinarians can help the healing process along by applying antibiotics and then sealing the crack with a special bonding material. Smaller fractures and cracks are easier to fix than larger holes, but let your vet decide how to proceed.
Even if it looks really bad to you, it might not be too big of a hole to fix. All turtles and tortoises are born with a shell. Unlike some other animals, turtles and tortoises do not molt and grow a new shell when they grow and mature. Instead, the shells grow with the turtle. Since the shell is part of their exoskeleton, it grows at the same pace as the rest of the skeletal system. The plates are called scutes, and they grow over time, overlap, and sometimes shed off.
But only turtle scutes shed; tortoises never shed theirs. Instead, tortoise scutes just keep growing and overlapping. Recently, scientists discovered fossils from Eunotosaurus africanus , which was the missing link between previous fossils of non-shelled turtles and modern turtles and tortoises.
What we do know if that turtles and tortoises primarily use their shells for protection. Tall, rounded shells are hard for predators to get their jaws around. Tough shells are nearly impossible for predators to chew or scratch through. A common theory was that their ancestors were turtles without shells.
This species then started to have a broadening of the ribs. However, this theory proved controversial as this type of evolution is counterintuitive. The broadening of the ribs would have provided little protection whilst making it harder to move and breathe.
The oldest turtle, Odontochelys semitestacae, dates back million years. This suggests the plastron appeared first in history, and some million years later, the carapace evolved.
One agreed-upon point is that the modern turtle made its first appearance in the late Triassic Period with the species Proganochelys. This species had a full shell with both the carapace and plastron.
The answer is no! They likely could not survive a couple minutes or even seconds without it. It is made up of bone, nerves and blood vessels. The bones fused to the shell are already a part of their body. Not only does it provide vital protection to their internal organs, but vertebrates cannot live without their spinal cord.
The spinal cord is the connection between the brain and the nerve endings. Without the spinal cord, no vertebrate would be able to move muscles. Their shell is part of them just as much as our skeleton is a part of us. The turtle is connected to its shell through its nerves, skin, ribs, and spinal cord. Fractures of breaks can occur from falling out of their tank , being dropped, or being stepped on.
In a depression fracture, there is a fracture along the midline of the carapace i. This can cause damage to the spinal column. Sometimes these injuries heal on their own, as a turtle shell can repair itself. Other common reasons for shell problems include bacteria, parasites , algae, environmental issues, and poor nutrition. It's important to be able to distinguish healthy shedding from problems that could endanger your pet's health or life.
First, determine whether the shell under the peeling scutes looks normal. Anytime the shell looks deformed, reddened or bloody under the scute, has exposed bone, or the shell feels soft or spongy, there's a problem and you should seek veterinary advice as soon as possible.
You should also see a vet if your turtle is continuously shedding scutes or the scutes are peeling but not falling completely off. Peeling as part of the growth process is normal as long as the thin layers come off, revealing shell that looks and feels normal. Dysecdysis abnormal shedding can leave your pet's shell exposed and vulnerable to infection.
It can also be a sign of liver, kidney, thyroid, or bone disease , or a nutritional deficiency. Treatment depends on the severity and cause of your turtle's dysecdysis. If the problem is relatively mild, start by ensuring that conditions in your pet's habitat are optimal.
In some cases, minor changes to your pet's enclosure can eliminate the problem. Check to be sure that:. If the problem is more serious or is not alleviated by changes to the habitat, it's best to check with the vet. While it's possible for you to remove fungi and algae from your turtle's shell, it's easy to injure the shell. It's best to have an expert handle the problem. Your vet may also be able to diagnose an underlying medical issue and prescribe medication.
One of the more common treatments for shell rot is debriding: a process of gently cleaning off the rotten shell and then treating the underlying tissue with antibiotics such as silver sulfadiazine cream. Vets may also give the turtle an injection of ceftazidime or another antibiotic. Some turtles need regular debriding along with a proper habitat and nutrition while the shell heals.
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