Flared Scutes in Russian Tortoise

Libflan

New Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2023
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
Bristol
Hi Guys,

I'm new to this forum, and new to being a tortoise owner so go easy on me πŸ˜….
I got bean my Russian Tortoise in November, she is 6 and a half months old and I'm having issues with her rear scutes. They're flaring up pretty badly and I'm worried it's stunted her growth at the back.
I want to start by saying she didn't have this issue when I got her, so it's definitely something I'm doing that's caused this.
For the first month, I mainly fed her dandelions, hawksbeard and the red pellets you can buy from a pet store πŸ™ƒ I took her to the vets for a check up a month ago and the vet said she seemed very healthy, and we were doing everything correctly - but to cut out the pellets as they're too high in protein.

So this month I've been feeding her dandelions every other day, and plantain, hawksbeard, watercress (every two weeks), pansy, aloe vera as a treat, prickly pear and some other weeds which are safe on the tortoise table. I also use a sprinkle of the vertak calcium and multivitamin powder daily.

She's pooping and peeing fine. She doesn't seem to have any urate in her pee - is this bad?

I'm pretty sure the issue is still getting worse, so I'm lost as to what I'm doing wrong. And I'm now worried about the damage I've done to her and I'm pretty heartbroken about it. What are the main causes of flaring? Protein? Or could I be overfeeding her too?

For reference:
- Her substrate is coco coir and top soil (organic), she's in a tortoise table which is approximately 2 square metres in size.
- Her lighting is a 50w halogen heat bulb which reaches 32 degrees, and a 12% arcadia UVB bulb. It's on a 12 hour cycle. She has a warm and cool side
- Her humidity is around 80% at night, but does drop between 50-60% during the day. I have put spaghnum moss in her little cave to keep her humidity up.
- I bathe her every day, and she has fresh water in her enclosure every day.
- I feed her every morning and leave the food in for the whole day, and she's pretty greedy so eats it all up. She also has a spider plant and another safe succulent on her enclosure she loves to nibble on.
- Her routine is great, she's very active and loves to climb and is very curious.

The first photo I've attached is when I got her
The second photo is in December when the flaring started
The third photo is now
The fourth is of her whole shell
The fifth is a close up of her flaring πŸ˜”
The sixth is how much I feed her everyday
The last one is of her enclosure (this is the most recent image I have, I'm aware there is forest bark in this one, but since I took the photo this has been changed)

Any help will be greatly appreciated πŸ™
Thank you so much in advance ☺️
 

Attachments

  • 20221114_071244.jpg
    20221114_071244.jpg
    95.5 KB · Views: 10
  • 20230202_100507.jpg
    20230202_100507.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 16
  • 20230202_094829.jpg
    20230202_094829.jpg
    517 KB · Views: 17
  • 20230202_093255.jpg
    20230202_093255.jpg
    871.2 KB · Views: 10
  • 20230202_092711.jpg
    20230202_092711.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 11
  • 20230131_070550.jpg
    20230131_070550.jpg
    555.3 KB · Views: 14
  • 20221217_072540.jpg
    20221217_072540.jpg
    865.1 KB · Views: 13

Ink

Well-Known Member
Tortoise Club
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jun 10, 2016
Messages
2,453
Location (City and/or State)
Virginia
What is the multivitamin? I thought I read moss, sorry if I'm wrong
 
Last edited:

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,388
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Let me start off by complementing you on your enclosure and dedication. I'm not sure what is causing the flaring, but it may be that halogen bulb. For heat most of us use either a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat or a radiant heat panel.
 

jsheffield

Well-Known Member
Moderator
5 Year Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2018
Messages
3,114
Location (City and/or State)
Westmoreland, NH
I don't think that her shell looks like a problem. I live with five Russians, from three different sub-species, and their shells all differ to some extent.

The environmental and care conditions generally sound good.

I mainly feed my Russians greens, with an occasional bit of butternut squash, and a little softened Mazuri kibble as a "dressing". It's possible the "red pellets" you mentioned were more for turtles, and had a much higher protein level, but since you've stopped feeding that, it shouldn't be a problem (or at least isn't one you can do anything further about).

I think you're doing essentially what you're supposed to... go back and re-read Tom's guide to temperate tortoises:

If you've providing adequate heat and humidity and UV and food and water and soaking and room for them to exercise, then you can probably assume that they'll be OK... torts are really tough creatures.

Keep asking questions, and keep trying to improve your care regimen by a little bit each day and week and month.

Jamie
 

Libflan

New Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2023
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
Bristol
I don't think that her shell looks like a problem. I live with five Russians, from three different sub-species, and their shells all differ to some extent.

The environmental and care conditions generally sound good.

I mainly feed my Russians greens, with an occasional bit of butternut squash, and a little softened Mazuri kibble as a "dressing". It's possible the "red pellets" you mentioned were more for turtles, and had a much higher protein level, but since you've stopped feeding that, it shouldn't be a problem (or at least isn't one you can do anything further about).

I think you're doing essentially what you're supposed to... go back and re-read Tom's guide to temperate tortoises:

If you've providing adequate heat and humidity and UV and food and water and soaking and room for them to exercise, then you can probably assume that they'll be OK... torts are really tough creatures.

Keep asking questions, and keep trying to improve your care regimen by a little bit each day and week and month.

Jamie
Jamie thank you so much for taking the time to reply, and thanks for the helpful information! You've relieved my anxiety massively 😊
 

Libflan

New Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2023
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
Bristol
What is the multivitamin? I thought I read moss, sorry if I'm wrong
It's the vertak combination one, which has calcium and various other minerals.
I did mention moss you're right, not for her to eat, I was told it helps raise humidity, so I put some in her cave where she sleeps.
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20230202_211640_Amazon Shopping.jpg
    Screenshot_20230202_211640_Amazon Shopping.jpg
    197.6 KB · Views: 2
  • Screenshot_20230202_211645_Amazon Shopping.jpg
    Screenshot_20230202_211645_Amazon Shopping.jpg
    258.8 KB · Views: 2

Libflan

New Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2023
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
Bristol
Let me start off by complementing you on your enclosure and dedication. I'm not sure what is causing the flaring, but it may be that halogen bulb. For heat most of us use either a ceramic heat emitter on a thermostat or a radiant heat panel.
Thanks Yvonne, means a lot!
Oooh okay, I'll look into this 😊 thanks!
 

jaizei

Unknown Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 5, 2011
Messages
9,054
Location (City and/or State)
Earth
For the first month, I mainly fed her dandelions, hawksbeard and the red pellets you can buy from a pet store πŸ™ƒ I took her to the vets for a check up a month ago and the vet said she seemed very healthy, and we were doing everything correctly - but to cut out the pellets as they're too high in protein.

Was it the Komodo pellets? A lot of veterinarians will reflexively say that pellet foods are too high in protein without taking the differences in the various brands into account, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.
 

zolasmum

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
May 19, 2015
Messages
2,001
Hello from Devon. I see you live in Bristol, and I am very impressed that you give your little one prickly pear -I've been trying to get some to feed Zola ( Hermanns - aged 22 )Please could you tell me where you got it from -we are a long way from Bristol, but I could at least check it out.Or did you pull a bit off someone's indoor plant?
Bean looks lovely, and is obviously a lucky tortoise.
Best wishes from Angie
 

TammyJ

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
7,119
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
Does she get soaked? Where is her pool? That's a beautiful enclosure.
 

thegangof5

New Member
Joined
Jan 24, 2023
Messages
4
Location (City and/or State)
Gloucestershire UK
Hello from Devon. I see you live in Bristol, and I am very impressed that you give your little one prickly pear -I've been trying to get some to feed Zola ( Hermanns - aged 22 )Please could you tell me where you got it from -we are a long way from Bristol, but I could at least check it out.Or did you pull a bit off someone's indoor plant?
Bean looks lovely, and is obviously a lucky tortoise.
Best wishes from Angie
You can buy it off ebay /the tortoise hut. I grow my own as it grows very quickly. You can buy one plant with a few sections on it, break the sections off and then put them into some soil indoors too, amd they will grow and have babies, and uou can gave an endless supply by breaking a section off each time to grow
 

Libflan

New Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2023
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
Bristol
Hello from Devon. I see you live in Bristol, and I am very impressed that you give your little one prickly pear -I've been trying to get some to feed Zola ( Hermanns - aged 22 )Please could you tell me where you got it from -we are a long way from Bristol, but I could at least check it out.Or did you pull a bit off someone's indoor plant?
Bean looks lovely, and is obviously a lucky tortoise.
Best wishes from Angie
Hello Angie 😊 I bought mine for 3 pound from a garden centre near me! I propagated the offcuts and repotted in organic soil. The garden centre is called 'cadbury garden centre'

Thanks for your kind words πŸ™
 

Attachments

  • Screenshot_20230203_074409_Google.jpg
    Screenshot_20230203_074409_Google.jpg
    242.7 KB · Views: 2

Libflan

New Member
Joined
Feb 2, 2023
Messages
9
Location (City and/or State)
Bristol
Was it the Komodo pellets? A lot of veterinarians will reflexively say that pellet foods are too high in protein without taking the differences in the various brands into account, so I'd take it with a grain of salt.
Yeah it was the dandelion flavoured ones. She absolutely loved them, but she was gaining a lot of weight quickly, so it was put down to protein intake.

I think I was just overfeeding her though πŸ™ˆ

Thank you 😊
 

TammyJ

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 21, 2016
Messages
7,119
Location (City and/or State)
Jamaica
Yeah it was the dandelion flavoured ones. She absolutely loved them, but she was gaining a lot of weight quickly, so it was put down to protein intake.

I think I was just overfeeding her though πŸ™ˆ

Thank you 😊
The only way you can overfeed any tortoise is by giving the wrong diet and/or too small an enclosure, I think πŸ€”.
 
Top