Help! Weird markings on my tortoises shell =(

[mr.speed]

Hello i'm new here,
to start with i'm not 100% sure that Mr.speed is a Sulcata because he was given to me out of nowhere! I know he/she is from morocco, and a person at the pet shop told me it was a Sulcata so i've been raising him like one but i want to be 100% sure.

I'm worried because i've noticed that there are these weird white squigily lines that have appeared on his shell and i have no idea if i should worry about it! I'm not sure when they appeared but i only noticed recently when comparing pictures of him now and pictures i took in August, a month after i had him (the picture with the flower)...if someone can explain to me why the markings have appeared and if its serious so i should take him to the vet?

Thanks, Zahra

 

[dmarcus]

Hello and welcome to the forum. I do not believe that speedy is a Sulcata, and he does have to very interesting marking on him. I am sure someone will be able to say for sure what type of tortoise you have.

 

[mr.speed]

I found out that the markings are nothing to worry about by checking the 'possibly related threads' but oh no i hope someone could tell me what breed he is, now i'm worried i've been raising him wrong =(

 

[Laura]

your baby looks dry.. do you soak him ?
not sure what the white lines are..
what kind of calcium does he get?
has he been able to be outside in the sun like he is now?

 

[mr.speed]

I soak him every day or every other day, i've only recently learnt that i need to put calcium in his food and i'm still not sure where i can buy it from, none of the pet shops near me sell any! He's been getting a lot of natural sunlight recently, but when hes indoors he has a UV light. I have noticed that he looks dry but im not sure why this is, any tips you can give me i'd really appreciate it.

i found these on the forum so i'm not so worried about the markings anymore
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-White-swirls-on-carapace?highlight=swirls#axzz1JYF0zV4r
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-Swirls?highlight=swirls#axzz1JYF0zV4r

 

[dmarcus]

It could be humidity issues. You will get a lot of help on this forum and if you search thru the older threads you will find a lot of great information.

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Also if your worried about calcium, you can use cuddle bone and crush it down and sprinkle it over your tortoise's food.

 

[mr.speed]

It could be humidity issues. You will get a lot of help on this forum and if you search thru the older threads you will find a lot of great information.

Thanks dalano, i'm definitely going to go through the threads to make sure i'm not going wrong anywhere, i think i need to post a new thread to see if someone can identify the breed for me first!

 

[dmarcus]

Thats a good way to start, I spend a lot of time going thru all the old threads and I have found some great ideas, and they have been a big help..

 

[jeffbens0n]

He looks like some type of Greek tort, Definitely not a sulcata or a leopard however.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Zahra:

We see a lot of that kind of thing (the little white squiggly lines) on baby Greek tortoises. So I'm thinking he's a Greek of some sort. GBTortoises is real good with the Greek I.D. I'll send him a PM and ask him to look at this thread.

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome, like his name!

 

[mr.speed]

Hi Zahra:

We see a lot of that kind of thing (the little white squiggly lines) on baby Greek tortoises. So I'm thinking he's a Greek of some sort. GBTortoises is real good with the Greek I.D. I'll send him a PM and ask him to look at this thread.

Thank you! Really appreciate it!

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Welcome, like his name!

Thank you =D ....if you've ever seen the swan princess theres a tortoise call Mr.speed in it, it's where i got the name, it was my favorite cartoon growing up so speedy is named after him

 

[Mao Senpai]

Those white squiggly lines are normal for greeks... it usually happens when they are young and growing...

 

[Tom]

All tortoises can get and show those squiggly lines. I notice it more on mine when I take them out of their humid enclosures and put them out in the hot dry sun outside. The lines fade away when I soak them after sunning. Maybe your tortoise needs a little more humidity inside or a humid hide box. I responded in your other thread too. Check that out. Yvonne's recommendation of talking to GB is a good one too. He is a very knowledgeable Testudo tortoise keeper here in the states. I trust his word on all things tortoise implicitly.

 

[Squirtle Time]

Those marks are really beautiful, I'm glad they are not due to something harmful.

I was able to purchase calcium from Petco. Its called ReptoCal by Tretrafauna. You may be able to order some online if you don't have a Petco nearby. All you have to do, according to the label, is dust his food with it about 2-3 times a week.

 

[GBtortoises]

Zahra-I'm positive that your tortoise is not a Sulcata, I believe it may be a North African Greek subspecies, I think Testudo gracea marokkensis.
I am not as familiar with the North African and some of the Middle Eastern Greeks as I am Northern Mediterranean Testudo but I do believe yours is found in Morocco in North Africa.

 

[mr.speed]

Zahra-I'm positive that your tortoise is not a Sulcata, I believe it may be a North African Greek subspecies, I think Testudo gracea marokkensis.
I am not as familiar with the North African and some of the Middle Eastern Greeks as I am Northern Mediterranean Testudo but I do believe yours is found in Morocco in North Africa.

Thank you! I was told by someone who has hatchlings of the same species that they are testudo gracea marokkensis too! So I think you maybe right, thats the species he belongs to