3 long, possibly red ear, turtle with film attached to legs

Question
Hi

Re our 3" long, possibly red ear, turtle with film attached to legs.  Turtle is approx 18 months old. Turtle lives in a 10 gal tank, which I'm thinking tanks size    needs to be increased.  Gets feed daily 3 reptile premium sticks.  Film has been noticed within the last few days.  Film could have developed anytime since 1/1/08.  Tank water gets changed every 3 weeks.  

My guess is I should be changing the tank water more frequently, get a bigger tank.  What should I do to try to get the film off the turtle's legs?  Today, I let the turtle have 15 mins in a large box, with a towel lining the box hoping friction might take some of the film off.  It didn't help too much.

What should I do?

Thanks, Kris

Answer
A film like this might be either a bad shedding, or a skin infection. I'd guess skin problem.

Give this article a try: http://www.austinsturtlepage.com/Care/medshell.htm

You can also try http://www.redearslider.com for general care and housing ideas.