Concern about scute ridge

liwei

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Jul 14, 2017
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michigan
Good evening, My leopard tortoise, Tony, is currently ~10 months old and he/she has been active and eating well. I wasn't so concerned about it when I first got Tony but now that he/she's getting bigger I'm starting to get worried about the scutes lining his/her spine. The rest of Tony's shell is smooth as I've been keeping the humidity around 80% and soaking every other day. I've attached some pictures and I'm asking if Tony's shell/spine is something I should get checked out by a vet or I'm just worrying about nothing...
also, the pictures might make it hard to tell but it's the scutes lining the spine that are raised...
 

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wellington

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That's called pyramiding. It's caused by dry conditions. However, for some reason, some leopards pyramid, specially in the same place as yours, even if raised from hatching in high humidity conditions. Keep humidity up, 80% with the proper temps and hopefully it won't get worse.
 

Tom

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It could be due to a dry start before you got him, or it could be due to excessive heat from the basking bulb. What is your basking temp at tortoise shell height? What type of bulb are you using and what wattage?
 

liwei

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michigan
It could be due to a dry start before you got him, or it could be due to excessive heat from the basking bulb. What is your basking temp at tortoise shell height? What type of bulb are you using and what wattage?
I got Tony from Tortoise Town so I'm not sure what type of conditions they raised him in. I use a 125w mercury vapor bulb (exo terra, if I remember correctly) and the basking temp usually around 95.
 
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