Indent in Scute?

[daniellenc]

Yesterday while feeding Skurt I noticed these two indents around one of his back scutes. There is nothing in his tank he could have been injured on, wasn't dropped, and doesn't go outside yet. His shell is hard, not chipped, and he is acting normal but it looks like reverse pyramiding. No sign of an injury so how did this happen?

 

[KevinGG]

Not seeing anything. Can you take a clearer shot of what you want us to look at?

 

[daniellenc]

It's hard to see with the naked eye but I can feel 2 indents one above and one below the 4th scute. If you start at his head and count 4 back down the middle that's the one in question.

 

[KevinGG]

Ah yes. I can almost make it out. Don't have any experience with that. Will tag some smarter people. @Tom @Markw84 @RedfootNERD @YvonneG

To those tagged, indent is most visible on seam between third and fourth vertabral.

 

[daniellenc]

Thanks @KevinGG. I soak him daily for 30-45 minutes, it's 84-85 on the side with the CHE and 80-82 on the other side. Humidity is always above 70% usually more 80-90% and diet consists of a huge variety of greens and weeds. I have been on here since well before he came home and he's only handled for soaks. The area if you zoom is noticeable but rock hard, not cracked or chipped, and he's eating like a machine and pooping daily.

 

[zovick]

Some tortoises have or develop that indented area along the midlinewhen young. It will most likely go away as your tortoise grows larger.

 

[KevinGG]

Thanks @KevinGG. I soak him daily for 30-45 minutes, it's 84-85 on the side with the CHE and 80-82 on the other side. Humidity is always above 70% usually more 80-90% and diet consists of a huge variety of greens and weeds. I have been on here since well before he came home and he's only handled for soaks. The area if you zoom is noticeable but rock hard, not cracked or chipped, and he's eating like a machine and pooping daily.

Gut tells me it is nothing to worry about, but sounds like you are feeding exclusively greens? Read attached caresheet to make sure your care is up to par. You can always PM @Redfoot NERD to take a look at this thread. He's the one that wrote this caresheet. http://turtletary.com/northern.html

 

[daniellenc]

Is it something I'm doing wrong though? He's been so easy to keep humid and it wasn't there until out of the blue when I felt it while moving him to soak. Could my diet be off? Dandelion greens, broad leaf plantain, Rose of Sharon leaves and flowers, radish greens, collards, chard, and organic spicy mix is his main staples. Then in the morning he gets Mazuri mixed in, and evening a fingernail size portion of mashed fruit mixed in.

 

[KevinGG]

Is it something I'm doing wrong though? He's been so easy to keep humid and it wasn't there until out of the blue when I felt it while moving him to soak. Could my diet be off? Dandelion greens, broad leaf plantain, Rose of Sharon leaves and flowers, radish greens, collards, chard, and organic spicy mix is his main staples. Then in the morning he gets Mazuri mixed in, and evening a fingernail size portion of mashed fruit mixed in.

@zovick responded above. He is an amazing resource. If he says nothing to worry about, I trust him.

Diet does need some tweaking. Great variety of greens though. Those will be great for veggie days. Read the above caresheet.

 

[daniellenc]

I have read that caresheet and will add in some moistened kitten chow once a week as I missed Mazuri alone is not enough. I've given him shrimp which he loved so additional protein once a week is easy enough. I do question all fruit days though I thought greens and weeds daily was a must? He does get fruit albeit a small amount once a day with flowers and greens in the evening and Mazuri and greens in the morning. Anyone else want to chime in?

 

[KevinGG]

I have read that caresheet and will add in some moistened kitten chow once a week as I missed Mazuri alone is not enough. I've given him shrimp which he loved so additional protein once a week is easy enough. I do question all fruit days though I thought greens and weeds daily was a must? He does get fruit albeit a small amount once a day with flowers and greens in the evening and Mazuri and greens in the morning. Anyone else want to chime in?

Not an exact science. Just what has worked for him. You'll hear different things from different people. Many people prepare a mix that they feed every day. Many people separate foods, like him. Some allow free graze, but provide fruit and protein. Just important it gets in there. Tortoise library has some good info too. You might check out some more experienced redfoot keepers like @pfara @allegraf @cdmay @Anyfoot @CharlieM @terryo. I'm sure they all have slightly different husbandry techniques that might interest you.

 

[zovick]

Is it something I'm doing wrong though? He's been so easy to keep humid and it wasn't there until out of the blue when I felt it while moving him to soak. Could my diet be off? Dandelion greens, broad leaf plantain, Rose of Sharon leaves and flowers, radish greens, collards, chard, and organic spicy mix is his main staples. Then in the morning he gets Mazuri mixed in, and evening a fingernail size portion of mashed fruit mixed in.

Hey Danielle,

I don't think the indentations are from anything you are doing wrong. I have always attributed that phenomenon to rapid growth in fairly young tortoises and it doesn't continue to be noticeable as they grow into adulthood (at least not in Radiated Tortoises).

When did you get the tortoise? Have you been keeping track of your tortoise's size and weight over time? Has it grown very much since you have had it?

 

[daniellenc]

Hey Danielle,

I don't think the indentations are from anything you are doing wrong. I have always attributed that phenomenon to rapid growth in fairly young tortoises and it doesn't continue to be noticeable as they grow into adulthood (at least not in Radiated Tortoises).

When did you get the tortoise? Have you been keeping track of your tortoise's size and weight over time? Has it grown very much since you have had it?

@zovick we got him in late June of this year and he was estimated at 2-3 months old. He has definitely grown but I do not weigh him so I couldn't tell you how much he has gained since he arrived only that he appears bigger to me, lol. I don't want him to grow too fast though however, he doesn't eat all that much honestly.

 

[zovick]

@zovick we got him in late June of this year and he was estimated at 2-3 months old. He has definitely grown but I do not weigh him so I couldn't tell you how much he has gained since he arrived only that he appears bigger to me, lol. I don't want him to grow too fast though however, he doesn't eat all that much honestly.

Is it possible the tortoise has always had these indentations and you only noticed them yesterday? Do you have any pix of it from when you first got it?

 

[daniellenc]

 

[daniellenc]

That's his first day home and I believe though my lighting is poor on my phone he did in fact have slight indentation on the same scute. It's just more pronounced now.

I also can now really tell how much he's grown @zovick

 

[zovick]

That's his first day home and I believe though my lighting is poor on my phone he did in fact have slight indentation on the same scute. It's just more pronounced now.

I also can now really tell how much he's grown @zovick

Yes, he/she has grown and looks fine. I don't think you need to worry. Just keep doing what you have been doing and fix the diet a bit as you mentioned earlier and all should go well.