Does Henry look Healthy?

[Jenncure]

I've enclosed a few pics. Please excuse the calcium powder on his face in one (little piggy). There are some irregularities in his shell, like a slight flaring near his back legs, and unevenness in his back scutes. Any idea what is causing this and how to fix? Also his growth line is huge. Should I be concerned?

 

[kimber_lee_314]

He looks good to me!

 

[luvpetz27]

He is a cutie pie!

 

[Spn785]

He looks good! Maybe a little dry, but that could just be me. What is your humidity at and do you soak him?

 

[Jenncure]

He looks good! Maybe a little dry, but that could just be me. What is your humidity at and do you soak him?

Thanks. I try to keep his humidity around 40%, but the house has been rather dry lately with the heat on, so that's been a challenge. I use organic topsoil and mist it daily, and soak him 3x week for 30 mins.

 

[Spn785]

Humidity should be between 40 and 60%. Occasionally dropping lower won't harm it, but it should be kept at 40% or higher. The 3x a week soak is pretty good and can make up for lower humidity, so it is probably just fine.

 

[biochemnerd808]

He looks good. I do notice that in the first pic it looks like the scutes in the back, left and right of the center one, are not growing at the same rate, making his shell a little asymmetrical. I wonder what is causing this - when you soak him, do you also pour some water over his shell? That may help, if some of the scutes are 'stuck' together.
Overall, his shell looks normal, nothing to be concerned about, but asymmetrical growth CAN be an indicator of metabolic issues or illness. Not to scare you. It's likely nothing...

My male, Roz, was growing WAY faster on one side of his shell when I first got him. Over the course of 2 years, it has evened out.

I've enclosed a few pics. Please excuse the calcium powder on his face in one (little piggy). There are some irregularities in his shell, like a slight flaring near his back legs, and unevenness in his back scutes. Any idea what is causing this and how to fix? Also his growth line is huge. Should I be concerned?

 

[Jenncure]

He looks good. I do notice that in the first pic it looks like the scutes in the back, left and right of the center one, are not growing at the same rate, making his shell a little asymmetrical. I wonder what is causing this - when you soak him, do you also pour some water over his shell? That may help, if some of the scutes are 'stuck' together.
Overall, his shell looks normal, nothing to be concerned about, but asymmetrical growth CAN be an indicator of metabolic issues or illness. Not to scare you. It's likely nothing...

My male, Roz, was growing WAY faster on one side of his shell when I first got him. Over the course of 2 years, it has evened out.

Thanks. I had been wondering about that. He had been in a too-small glass tank with no UV for about a year, so I was thinking that might have been the cause. He's been in a much larger enclosure with UV for several months now. Do you think it warrants a vet visit?

 

[cemmons12]

He looks good to me. I see no need for a vet visit unless you want to get him checked for worms and parasites.

 

[biochemnerd808]

I don't think this warrants a vet visit - the vet would just say 'yep, the 20gal tank and no UV probably caused that' (along with lack of hydration, probably)... and since you've changed that, I bet it will grow more normally from here on out.

If you have the $ it can't hurt to have a fecal parasite test run (call around - the fecal test is $63 at our favorite reptile vet, but just $26 at a different one that doesn't see reptiles, but can run the test. Since I just needed to know whether there were still worms present, and already had the meds and knew proper dosage, that was sufficient).

 

[gieseygirly]

He looks great to me. Looks like you've got a spider plant in there? I'm surprised he doesn't devour it!

 

[Jenncure]

Thanks everyone for the replies and good advice. Geisey, we have to replace his spider plants frequently because he either snacks on them or digs them up in his burrowing sessions.