turtle with loose scale?

Question
My mother-in-law takes care of my husband's turtle- it's some sort of water
turtle that they have had for 20 years.  It got out the other day and was out
for many hours- she finally found it stuck between the wall and the radiator.  
She tells us now that it has a "loose scale that is just hanging by a thread"
and wanted us to research what she should do on the internet.  She is in
Philadelphia- we are in Montana.  She says the turtle is fine otherwise, but
she is worried about infection.  Do we tell her to take it to the vet, or does a
"loose scale" in an otherwise fine (and resilient) turtle not represent a
problem?

Answer
They shed their scales over time, both as part of normal growth, and in reaction to stress or injury.

If there is no blood, no signs of rawness or nifection, etc., then just go ahead and clip it.

For insurance or if there are MINOR signs of injury, she can swab the area with something like Betadine Solution to clean adn disinfect it, then dab any injured-looking spots with antibiotic ointment. let this dry before putting the turtle back in the water.

If it looked very injured, I assume she would have gone to the vet by now.

A good general purpose site she might enjoy as well would be http://www.austinsturtlepage.com

Good luck!