Asymmetrical scutes.

[Mrs_Gal1981]

I noticed my cherry head has not just one but 2 extra scutes on the left side compared to the right. Is this normal? Is this something that gets even with age? I read this is purely an esthetic thing and doesn’t affect their health but couldn’t find more info; I’m fairly new at this so I was just wondering if anyone has experience with this and if the scutes are constantly changing? (I hope this isn’t a dumb question.)
Thanks in advance!

 

[zovick]

I noticed my cherry head has not just one but 2 extra scutes on the left side compared to the right. Is this normal? Is this something that gets even with age? I read this is purely an esthetic thing and doesn’t affect their health but couldn’t find more info; I’m fairly new at this so I was just wondering if anyone has experience with this and if the scutes are constantly changing? (I hope this isn’t a dumb question.)
Thanks in advance!

The scutes do not change their shapes (other than to grow larger). Tortoises like yours with more scutes on one side than the other will often become more and more asymmetrical in appearance as they get older. IE, the left side will be larger than the right side so the tortoise may appear to be a bit lopsided when viewd from above. If you look carefully at it now, you can see that the left side is already bulging outward and is longer from front to back than the right side. This appearance will most likely become more exaggerated as your tortoise gets larger.

It is only a cosmetic thing, and the health of the tortoise should not be affected as you have read.

Some people can live with the extra or split scutes on their animals and other cannot. It is strictly a matter of individual preference. Over the years, I soon learned to ask anyone from whom I was buying a tortoise whether it had normal or abnormal scutes prior to committing to a purchase and then decided whether my desire to own the tortoise outweighed any asymmetry (which I never liked nor accepted if I could avoid it). However, if the animal in question was needed for a particular breeding program, I would buy it regardless of the scute morphology.

 

[Mrs_Gal1981]

The scutes do not change their shapes (other than to grow larger). Tortoises like yours with more scutes on one side than the other will often become more and more asymmetrical in appearance as they get older. IE, the left side will be larger than the right side so the tortoise may appear to be a bit lopsided when viewd from above. If you look carefully at it now, you can see that the left side is already bulging outward and is longer from front to back than the right side. This appearance will most likely become more exaggerated as your tortoise gets larger.

It is only a cosmetic thing, and the health of the tortoise should not be affected as you have read.

Some people can live with the extra or split scutes on their animals and other cannot. It is strictly a matter of individual preference. Over the years, I soon learned to ask anyone from whom I was buying a tortoise whether it had normal or abnormal scutes prior to committing to a purchase and then decided whether my desire to own the tortoise outweighed any asymmetry (which I never liked nor accepted if I could avoid it). However, if the animal in question was needed for a particular breeding program, I would buy it regardless of the scute morphology.

Thank you for taking the time to explain! I really do not mind this, as long as it doesn’t bother him. So, this won’t affect his comfort nor his walking correct? It’s merely an optical matter of looking more lopsided?

 

[zovick]

Thank you for taking the time to explain! I really do not mind this, as long as it doesn’t bother him. So, this won’t affect his comfort nor his walking correct? It’s merely an optical matter of looking more lopsided?

Yes, that is correct. There have been no studies of which I am aware that point to any type of internal organ problems in tortoises with this outward appearance, so as far as we know, it is totally cosmetic.