# Tortoise white lines between scutes



## Valgreenbros (Sep 12, 2016)

Hi,

I have three Gopherus Berlandieri, they come to me as a gift, I already have 3 months with them. I'm just being into this tortoise world. I'm trying to do the things well so I being reading a lot this months about tortoise and turtles.

I feed them with nopal (opuntia) and trebol, recently I bought a uvb lamp so since last week they have uvb rays, before that they were always in the porch of my house (not too much sun).

Recently I just noticed that my tortoises have this white layer between their scutes, I read that it could be new growing shell, however I am alarmed because that layer is very large in one of them.

This is Harvey (10 centimeters, approximately it's 2 years old), as you can see, it have those white lines (blue circle) and I think they're very large and I don't know what could it be and why. Also since I have it it always has had those black marks (red circle) in the center of each scute.













This is my oldest tortoise (It doesn't have name yet; 15 centimeters, I think it is 3 years old)









I'm asking if someone knows what is happening to my tortoises or if this situation is normal. They're eating normally this days. Just Harvey has been a little more passive than normal.

In advance thanks for your help.

Regards


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## Yvonne G (Sep 13, 2016)

Hi, and welcome to the Forum!

Both your tortoises' shells look very dry. Do they have access to water? Do they live in a place where there is a lot of vegetation? If not, then I think you need to intervene.

Place the tortoises in a pan of water and lightly scrub the shells with a soft bristle brush. Get off all the dirt, and be sure to lightly scrub the growth lines (the white areas). My first impression was that of mold growing on the growth lines, but that's probably just the picture and not real life.

After you dry them off, you can lightly rub in some olive oil or extra virgin coconut oil. Massage in the oil then allow it to absorb for about 15 minutes. After that, take a soft cotton cloth and polish the shells, making sure to get all the excess oil off the shells.

When you have done that, I'd like to see another picture of both of them so I can get a better look at the growth lines.

The spots you've circled in red are nothing to worry about - just pigmentation.

(Harvey is female)


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