# Russian tortoise separated shutes and thin shell...very scared



## [email protected] (Aug 30, 2011)

hi my name is Kaylee and I have a 3 year old Russian tortoise. I'm not too sure but I think his scutes are separating. the bottom of his shell is very thin..it's not flaky or anything but it is very think. I almost feel like it could break very easily

http://i910.photobucket.com/albums/ac309/kdogmobile/8ec780c0.jpg
here is a picture of his shell. the separation and thinness is only on the very back of his shell by his tail 

his diet is mostly romaine lettuce and I soak him 2-3 times a week 

I am very scared and I hope he's okay. Can someone please help me 


thank you guys!


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## Jacqui (Aug 31, 2011)

Hi Kaylee and welcome! From what I am seeing in the pictures, the pale yellowish areas your talking about are just new growth

. However, you said your only feeding romaine and that is a very poor diet, which you need to do a change on. Here is a pretty good Russian diet sheet to get you going with:
http://www.russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm

How about you take the time to tell us more how your caring for this little guy and we will see if any other area is needing working on, okay?


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## tyler0912 (Aug 31, 2011)

I agree just new growth [hes getting bigger] i agree romaine is not a good diet if that is all your feeding but here you wil find out how to care for your tort perfectly !


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## ascott (Aug 31, 2011)

Welcome to the forum  I agree with the others on the scutes, also....yup, he really needs you to give him a variety of goodies and the link that was given is a good one....


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## dmmj (Aug 31, 2011)

try a more varied diet, lettuce is low in nutrition,and he could benefit from a more varied diet, you should see the list of what my russians eat.


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