Mississippi Map Turtle

Question
Someone at work almost crushed this little inch baby turtle & we found out what he is and its a Mississippi Map Turtle. My husband asked if we could keep him so I agreed. We have a 10 gallon tank gravel a floating plat form & cuttle bone the tank is 3/4 full he eats shrimp & crill &turtle pellets. We have UVA&UVB  lamp & a basking lamp. There is a filter in the tank & we do want to get a bigger tank & a better filter but we keep the tank clean. Well he is pealing on his neck & head I was wondering if this is okay? He eats good & swims a lot and seems fine. Also any other info you can give me on the kind of turtle & the care he needs that we are not giving him that we should. Thank you for your time & help.
Mrs. Lora Dellinger

Answer
Peeling means several things:

- healthy growth, especially after an injury, stressful period, etc.

- a reaction to stress or injury, but not a troublesome one if the basic cares are sharp.

- a sign of a skin disease, usually characterized by thicker 'peels', raw-looking skin, etc.

He sounds OK to me- but reviewing the basic cares is always  good idea. Try the care sheets at http://www.austinsturtlepage.com for more.