Extra scutes and pyramiding ?

Boettgeri

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Hello

I know a tortoise who is less than 1 year old and have two extra scutes between nuchal and costal scutes (I think). She/he is already pyramiding. These extra scutes are not smooth at all.

I have read many sites telling that there is no scientific evidence that extra scutes could cause health issues. Is that true for all the tortoises ? I'm concerned about this little tortoise's health (even though she/he is not mine yet).

If you know something more about that I would be interested in knowing it.

Thank you and have a good day or night
 

TechnoCheese

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The extra scutes are not the reason the tortoise is pyramiding, if that’s what you’re saying. Pyramiding is caused by lack of humidity, and not much else. The tortoise in question is likely being kept too dry.

Do you have pictures of the tortoise?
 

Boettgeri

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I have no pictures yet because she/he is not mine. I think she/is kept in bad conditions because she/he is in a pet center in a small terrarium with shavings and eating salad and "dry tortoise food" instead of what she/is needs. But she/he is unfortunately not the only tortoise there and she/he seems to have the worst pyramiding shell compared to others there.

(I have already told the store manager about the bad environment for tortoises but he didn't care). :/
 

Yvonne G

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What kind of tortoise is it? I have heard, but have not found it to be true in my own experience with aberrant scute tortoises, that the tortoises with aberrant scute patterns are prone to pyramid a bit easier than normals. At any rate, it's the humidity that helps them grow smoothly.
 

Boettgeri

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Here we call it eurotestudo boettgeri. Maybe when they are kept too dry the extra scutes tortoises pyramid faster than others ? I see that in that pet center. :/
I'm thinking to buy this tortoise to improve her/his living conditions.
 

JoesMum

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Boettgeri is a the Eastern subspecies of Hermann's tortoise

The key to helping this tortoise is daily soaks in warm water for at least 20 minutes.

And then ensuring that temperatures are correct and that substrate is earthy (coco coir or fine grade orchid bark) and mixed with water until all of it is damp which raises humidity.

The basking lamp must hang vertically above the enclosure and have 95-100F directly underneath. It must be on for 14 hours a day and so must the UVB lamp. Don't buy a compact UVB bulb (has a screw thread and looks like a low energy light bulb) as these cause problems with tortoise eyes; use a fluorescent tube UVB. At night your tortoise requires complete darkness. If temperatures drop below 65F at night (80F is your tortoise is less than 4" straight carapace length) then you will need a Ceramic Heat Emitter (CHE) and a thermostat to keep it warm enough.

I advise you to to read the following care sheets and compare them with your setup. They're written by species experts working hard to correct the outdated information widely available on the internet and from pet stores and sadly from some breeders and vets too.


Beginner Mistakes
https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/beginner-mistakes.45180/

Hermann's Tortoise Care
https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/sticky-hermanns-tortoise-care-sheet-updated.101410/
 

Boettgeri

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Thank you. :)

We have already two boettgeri since 3 years. They are fine and we have everything they need. Their shell is smooth.

We are thinking about buying the tortoise I speak about in this topic. We know sadly that she/he is not fine at the pet center. :(

I have a few questions but maybe it is not the good topic here :

Does anyone have males living in the same enclosure or does everybody separate males from males and from females ? We can not know if our tortoises are males or females or 1 male and 1 female (they are 3.5 years) and somebody told us that it was a bad idea to buy a third tortoise without knowing if they are males or females.
We do not want them to have babies but we want to avoid harassment and attacks when they are adults...

I'll write a new topic about it. :)
 
Last edited:

tortgirl5

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Definitely humidity and everything that was stated. I have not seen irregular scutes being any huge problem for most torts. Definitely make a humid hide, along with all those changes. I place moss inside my hides and mist the moss. My humidity is not great inside the house right now very dry, being in Illinois. So I have added a fogger to my hatchlings. Keeps levels perfect.
 

Boettgeri

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Hello

The tortoise is still not mine but I've taken some pictures (sorry for the bad quality I have not better pictures).

What do you think ? Pyramiding is worse il real life than in this pictures
https://www.noelshack.com/2019-05-1-1548691247-20190127-010756.jpg

https://www.noelshack.com/2019-05-1-1548691286-20190127-010653.jpg

I know the tortoise is kept in a bad environment but I can't do nothing by now because the keepers won't change it. The only way is if I buy this tortoise.

Have a good day
 

Yvonne G

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The shell looks very dry. The pyramiding isn't very bad. I wouldn't use that little bit of pyramiding as something to keep me from buying the tortoise if I wanted it.

As to keeping more than one male in an enclosure - if it's outside and very large it might work out, but if it's indoors, there isn't an enclosure large enough to house more than one male together.
 
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