On his Wikipedia page, in the 1966 - 1975 section it says it took a lot of persuasion to get him to use the wheelchair. This suggests that he wasn't in dire need of it at that point. His first child was in 1967, the last in 1979.
6. Extremely high ammonia levels in the water can damage the outer layer of skin and cause shedding. RES are tolerant of high ammonia levels while map turtles are not, so this problem is more likely to occur with Graptemys species.
Q. I have a male eastern painted turtle that is about 5 years old. Lately the eastern painted turtle has been shedding the skin on its legs. I know this is normal for aquatic turtles, but this time the skin is just hanging from teh eastern painted turtle's legs. The eastern painted turtle appears to be shedding more than usual. I use a UVB/UVA light and a water heater. I have not changed the turtle's food and I regularly clean the turtle tank. Do you have any suggestions as to what may be causing the overshedding of the eastern painted turtle and what I can do about it? A.