Crease or crack in scute

[MyTrek]

Hello!
I have a new red-footed tortoise. He appears to have a crease or crack on his first vertebral scute. (See picture) any ideas what or why? He has been kinda sluggish and I have been working hard at taking good care of him.

He is in a 30x13 inch tank for now. His substrate is an inch of soil with a shredded jungle floor medium. I have a cache of damp sphagnum behind the bark. There is an 8x8 heat mat under the tank and a 75 watt basking lamp on a dimmer. I have an infrared heat gun on order to check temps. There is a 4x8 shallow water bowl in his habitat. I mist the bedding once a day.
He seemed a little dehydrated (the pet shop had him in a very dry habitat) and was gasping and bobbing his head, hard, so I started soaking him in the morning and he perks up enough to eat a few bites and then he sleeps.
So far I have offered him (separately) kale, banana, mango, wetted iguana pellets, water cress, and romaine lettuce. I put calcium reptile powder on the fruit and he ate 4-5 bites of mango one day and 4-5 bites of banana on two other days, that's it.
His shell is 4 inches long and he weighs 192 grams right now. He has peed some clear jelly twice and pooped once in the soaker a green poop about two inches long. The head bobbing/gasping is getting better, he also does neck gulping that I have learned is sniffing/smelling. When I put fruit out although he doesn't always eat it.

I am concerned about he crease and his energy and breathing so I am taking him to the vet on Friday. Any suggestions about what to ask the Vet.

 

[Raymo2477]

If I'm not mistaken that is a fairly common shell feature that you see in a lot of redfoots. I don't think its anything to be too worried about, my two little ones have a similar indentation.

 

[T33's Torts]

That no problem, but I'd DEFINITELY work on a bigger enclosure.

 

[MyTrek]

I agree, tffnytorts. He hasn't moved from his hide all week but I know once he feels better he is going to want room to move. This was just a tank I had on hand. In time, he will have his own summer garden too.

 

[pfara]

Raymo is correct. That indentation is normal and is probably from being all kinds of squished in an egg. I think it should round out over time. Some of my guys had that and it might be gone by now (funny how little details like that slip one's mind). If you have the right temps, humidity, and light intensity, he should be more active in time. I'd probably not offer so much fruit (especially banana) and increase the variety of weeds and greens. And keep up the soaks! He's a cute little guy

 

[MyTrek]

He turned down romaine, soaked high-protein cat food, and mango today. As a last resort I offered banana with calcium powder again. He took 3 bites and went back to bed. At least he pooped during his soak. His breathing is improving but I don't think he is warm enough as he buried himself in the substrate squarely over the heating mat that is stuck to the underside if the enclosure. The basking light is over an open area and he doesn't like to be out. Is it ok to cover part of the tank to keep it warmer? He likes the damp sphagnum but I worry it will chill him. I thought I was ready for him but now I sound like a new mom Suggestions?

 

[pfara]

What are the exact temps? And can you post a pic of the enclosure? Cold and damp is definitely a dangerous combination.

 

[ascott]

Yes, absolutely cover all or as much of the top as possible...this will hold in warmth and if you place a water dish directly below the heat source day and night that will help to offer up some humidity as the water heats up....

The shell looks beautiful, nothing wrong that I can see....have you offered a good organic spring mix with lots of radicchio in the mix???

 

[MyTrek]

I don't have exact temps but have a thermometer on order. There is an 8x8 sticky heat mat on the underside of part of where he hides. I cover the enclosure more at night and will add a night heat bulb ASAP. I also run a humidifier in the room 24/7. The bedding he lies on is dry but I keep it quite moist around the bowl. I have seeds started to add clover, lettuce, and alfalfa sprouts in shallow pots. The plants and backdrop were at the kids' insistence, they said it was bleak without them but I don't like the heat lamp with the plant.

Let me know if you want more info and thank you for your advice!

---

Also, this won't he the permanent housing. I am going to build one for when he lives in the classroom next year. (I wanted some time to get to know him and perfect his care before he is around the biology students).
* I take up the fruit when he is done eating and replace it with water in the bowl. Then I leave romaine out next to it in case he does decide to eat again.

 

[pfara]

I personally wouldn't use a light emitting bulb at night. I like ceramic heat emitters for nighttime warmth, but that's just me. Also, even though you have a humidifier in the room, it doesn't hurt to add a bunch of long-fiber sphagnum moss in there and spray it down twice a day. Even though redfoots are notorious for shell rot, I've kept the top of their substrate sprayed down and moist (not saturated) without issues. Maybe I'm one of the lucky few, but it's my suggestion to not have it too dry in there. Let us know what the temps are once you get a thermometer. Also, get something to measure the humidity as well.

 

[MyTrek]

I had read about the sphagnum moss somewhere on this forum. Luckily I had some here because I keep quite a few orchids (it was even the brand they posted) and I keep a damp wad of it behind the chunk of bark that makes up a "wall" of his hide. He likes to snuggle into it so he has dampened moss above and the heat mat below. I mist the substrate but not the spot he sleeps on. I wet it a lot more on the end away from his hide, enough to keep it moist all day. I am calling around to some of my friends at the zoology dept at the university in town to borrow something to take a few temps until my equipment arrives. Thank you for your tips and sharing your experience because I can read and read all day but feedback about real life experience is such valuable resource!