Cracked shell

Cininhouston

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Houston’s
Hi! My 12 yr old Sulcatta recently began showing signs of cracked shell. What should I do?
 

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Ray--Opo

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Make sure there is nothing that he has caught the shell on. (Nail, screw, going under something and forcing his way out. Also look for and watch him if he is ramming something while backing up.
Is there anything draining from the opening?
Does it seem to be getting larger or did it just show up one day.
Right now just keep clean so no bugs lay eggs. Also you want to keep dirt out of it.
Do a little detective work to find out if there is something in is area that is causing.
 

zovick

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Hi! My 12 yr old Sulcatta recently began showing signs of cracked shell. What should I do?
It looks like a pretty old injury to me. It also appears that the first central scute and the first left costal scute may both end up coming off after all the bone underneath them has finished healing.

I don't think there is really much treatment needed at this time. You could possibly apply Vetericyn or Neosporin ointment along the white areas to keep them free of bacteria, but as I said, it doesn't appear to be a very recent happening, so that is not a necessity IMHO.
 

Yvonne G

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We see this a lot when people have the light or heat source hanging too low over the tortoise and the new growth gets burned. Evidently tortoises can't feel that they're getting too hot in that area. If this is the case, the remedy is to raise the fixture so it's 2' or more above the top of the carapace. The damage is done . You can paint the area with coconut oil, but healing is slow
 

LilyVictoria

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Joined
Dec 31, 2023
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Location (City and/or State)
Washington
Make sure there is nothing that he has caught the shell on. (Nail, screw, going under something and forcing his way out. Also look for and watch him if he is ramming something while backing up.
Is there anything draining from the opening?
Does it seem to be getting larger or did it just show up one day.
Right now just keep clean so no bugs lay eggs. Also you want to keep dirt out of it.
Do a little detective work to find out if there is something in is area that is causing.
Try this out. I also did this while I faced up the same. Thanks for this solution.
 
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