Birth mark?

[Bear2023]

My three toed box turtle (I think she is somewhere around 2 or 3 years old) I have had her for almost a year. So she is pretty young. She has this indention on her shell near her head. Do y’all think It’s from a past Injury, or just a birth mark? {Just curious}
Thank you all!

 

[wellington]

Looks like something from birth, not an injury.

 

[zovick]

My three toed box turtle (I think she is somewhere around 2 or 3 years old) I have had her for almost a year. So she is pretty young. She has this indention on her shell near her head. Do y’all think View attachment 368045It’s from a past Injury, or just a birth mark? {Just curious}
Thank you all!View attachment 368044

Think of a cleft palate in a human. That's what it looks like to me, an area where the shell did not completely fuse together during its embryonic development. The same type of thing causes a cleft palate and/or a "hare lip". Hence, I would call it a developmental defect or maybe a shell formation anomaly.

If "birth mark" works for you, though, that is OK, although it would not be my definition of that term.

 

[Ink]

Cute turtle.

 

[jaizei]

Can you post more pictures showing the rest of the shell and earlier pictures if you have them, to compare.

 

[Bear2023]

Looks like something from birth, not an injury.

Cute turtle.

Thank you!