Jagged shell and slight underbite:

[GreenE]

Hello there! I am a brand new tortoise parent, rescuing one that needed a more attentive owner. She is a four year old Horsfield.
I’ve noticed that the shell edge just above her head/neck is unsymmetrical and jagged? Also she has a slight underbite, it isn’t much but I think she has mostly been fed wet pellets from a milk cap until now.. is this a calcium deficiency ? Or maybe just a natural defect?
I’m going to post a couple photos, if folks could just let me know how healthy she looks/ whether there’s anything I need to be doing? Thank you !

 

[zovick]

Hello there! I am a brand new tortoise parent, rescuing one that needed a more attentive owner. She is a four year old Horsfield.
I’ve noticed that the shell edge just above her head/neck is unsymmetrical and jagged? Also she has a slight underbite, it isn’t much but I think she has mostly been fed wet pellets from a milk cap until now.. is this a calcium deficiency ? Or maybe just a natural defect?
I’m going to post a couple photos, if folks could just let me know how healthy she looks/ whether there’s anything I need to be doing? Thank you !

The tortoise's underjaw is prognathic (sticks out beyond upper jaw) which is not normal. It should not be too hard to correct from what I can see. The lower beak needs to be beveled back so it can fit inside and under the upper beak. Once that is accomplished, the two beaks should wear themselves down normally.

I would add that once the lower jaw is inside the upper jaw, the upper beak could stand to be trimmed about 1/8" to 1/4" as well, but I wouldn't worry about that upper beak trimming until the the lower one is in the right position/relationship to it.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the shell at this time. It does not appear to have a serious problem from what I can see in the photos.

 

[GreenE]

The tortoise's underjaw is prognathic (sticks out beyond upper jaw) which is not normal. It should not be too hard to correct from what I can see. The lower beak needs to be beveled back so it can fit inside and under the upper beak. Once that is accomplished, the two beaks should wear themselves down normally.

I would add that once the lower jaw is inside the upper jaw, the upper beak could stand to be trimmed about 1/8" to 1/4" as well, but I wouldn't worry about that upper beak trimming until the the lower one is in the right position/relationship to it.

I wouldn't be overly concerned about the shell at this time. It does not appear to have a serious problem from what I can see in the photos.

Thank you so much for this, I didn’t think it was right. Today also noticed she is having a hard time tearing leaves. I’ll do my best to trim back the beak, and then I intend to feed her a much more varied diet so hopefully that helps.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hello and welcome from a fellow uk member! I’m SO happy you’ve made your way to the forumthere’s so much misinformation out there on multiple different platforms, and care advice in the uk can be pretty dire. You’re in the best possible place

Poor girl, I can tell had a rough start in life just from these few photos, do you have a full body photo? A side profile would be good, her shell condition can give us a bigger picture for things like potential MBD.
A lot of captive bred Russians in the uk end up in similar states unfortunately, mostly through bad diets and housing her beak is probably a combination of both, but with proper treatment and improved husbandry, it’s definitely fixable!

I wouldn’t worry about that jagged bit unless you start to notice it causing any irritation on her neck.

There’s some good advice above already for her beak.

In terms of housing, hopefully you’ll find going over these helpful!

I made this thread based on the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, sizing(more on that later) appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! I go over an open set up here, but if you don’t brumate in winter, an enclosure topper is a really good idea in the uk, vivs work even better, I’ll add ideas below

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes potential topper ideas to help lock heat in, but I will say vivs/pvc vivs are definitely the most efficient and easy to maintain levels in

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

There’s a uk company called Southdown aquatics that make custom sized vivs, but if they’re out of your price range, there’s definitely plenty of ways to make your own, with different levels of diy skills.

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking ahe’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room.

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I hope they help! Sorry it’s so much to go over, I know this is very overwhelming for a new owner, especially if you’ve been lead astray with other outdated advice already, but please take all the time you need, and take all this step by step, we’re more than happy to break and information down! And if you want, we could ask for more housing info with the current set up, to help tortoise feel more comfortable in whatever enclosure she’s in now whilst you figure everything outwelcome aboard!

 

[GreenE]

Hello and welcome from a fellow uk member! I’m SO happy you’ve made your way to the forumthere’s so much misinformation out there on multiple different platforms, and care advice in the uk can be pretty dire. You’re in the best possible place

Poor girl, I can tell had a rough start in life just from these few photos, do you have a full body photo? A side profile would be good, her shell condition can give us a bigger picture for things like potential MBD.
A lot of captive bred Russians in the uk end up in similar states unfortunately, mostly through bad diets and housing her beak is probably a combination of both, but with proper treatment and improved husbandry, it’s definitely fixable!

I wouldn’t worry about that jagged bit unless you start to notice it causing any irritation on her neck.

There’s some good advice above already for her beak.

In terms of housing, hopefully you’ll find going over these helpful!

I made this thread based on the forums care information and added visual aids, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), correct levels, sizing(more on that later) appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! I go over an open set up here, but if you don’t brumate in winter, an enclosure topper is a really good idea in the uk, vivs work even better, I’ll add ideas below

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes potential topper ideas to help lock heat in, but I will say vivs/pvc vivs are definitely the most efficient and easy to maintain levels in

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

There’s a uk company called Southdown aquatics that make custom sized vivs, but if they’re out of your price range, there’s definitely plenty of ways to make your own, with different levels of diy skills.

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking ahe’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room.

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

I hope they help! Sorry it’s so much to go over, I know this is very overwhelming for a new owner, especially if you’ve been lead astray with other outdated advice already, but please take all the time you need, and take all this step by step, we’re more than happy to break and information down! And if you want, we could ask for more housing info with the current set up, to help tortoise feel more comfortable in whatever enclosure she’s in now whilst you figure everything outwelcome aboard!

Thank you so much for this, the more I keep reading, the more grateful I am that I found her. It was super impulsive of me, always loved tortoises but never once looked at getting one till the other day- first one I found needed rehoming and was 45 minutes away- and I’m realising more and more that she was totally neglected (previous owner got her as a teen, and the novelty likely wore off fast) - I feel like it was meant to be.

Her current enclosure is 45cm by 90cm and I can already tell she needs more stomping ground. This will have to do for the now, tough I intend to do some DIY to maximise her roaming space within this small enclosure.

I plan to build a not perfect size, but as big as I can manage, indoor enclosure when I can afford it.
Also we have a large unused front garden which I intend to fully tort proof, putting a wire bottom in under a few feet of dirt so she can dig to her heart’s content, with lots of naturally bushes to snack on and hide amongst, and a secure top. Alas this will be a long term endeavour, and the weather is miserable where I am right now.. but maybe in spring!

For the now my necessary is getting her the proper UVs and diet, as it’s clear she’s lacking. I think you can’t tell from this next photo I’ll attach that the shell is pyramidding, but it’s not ‘too bad’.. I am doing daily soaks and sprays though. And new substrate arriving soon! As she has been in hay with these awful cheap pellets that suck up any moisture >.<

So glad I found this forum already- what a wealth of knowledge and lovely people!

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Thank you so much for this, the more I keep reading, the more grateful I am that I found her. It was super impulsive of me, always loved tortoises but never once looked at getting one till the other day- first one I found needed rehoming and was 45 minutes away- and I’m realising more and more that she was totally neglected (previous owner got her as a teen, and the novelty likely wore off fast) - I feel like it was meant to be.

Her current enclosure is 45cm by 90cm and I can already tell she needs more stomping ground. This will have to do for the now, tough I intend to do some DIY to maximise her roaming space within this small enclosure.

I plan to build a not perfect size, but as big as I can manage, indoor enclosure when I can afford it.
Also we have a large unused front garden which I intend to fully tort proof, putting a wire bottom in under a few feet of dirt so she can dig to her heart’s content, with lots of naturally bushes to snack on and hide amongst, and a secure top. Alas this will be a long term endeavour, and the weather is miserable where I am right now.. but maybe in spring!

For the now my necessary is getting her the proper UVs and diet, as it’s clear she’s lacking. I think you can’t tell from this next photo I’ll attach that the shell is pyramidding, but it’s not ‘too bad’.. I am doing daily soaks and sprays though. And new substrate arriving soon! As she has been in hay with these awful cheap pellets that suck up any moisture >.< View attachment 395273

So glad I found this forum already- what a wealth of knowledge and lovely people!

I’m so glad you’ve taken her inunfortunately the more you read and learn on this forum, you truly realise how lacking captive care can be, her housing&care sounds very typical to some the tortoises I’ve seen in the uk

Yeah more room is definitely needed, bless her, I understand not many people have the recommended sq footage indoors in the uk, so you might benefit looking into a multi story enclosure design, or different shapes that fit your space, there’s lots of creative options&different threads I can link to you if needed.

For now yes, focus on getting correct lighting, because you’ll be able to use that in the upgrade too, make sure all temperatures are correct with digital monitoring. Substrate wise go with orchid bark, damp coco coir or forest floor(cypress mulch), avoid edible beddings, hemp, store soils, tortoise soil mixes(covered in common error link)
Some have a coir base with bark on top.

Mazuri pellets are ok to feed a few times a week, but I’m guessing that’s not what these were?

This stuff can also be great for getting variety in, especially now the weathers turning and it harder to grow weeds, you soak each cube till a mushy grassy texture and add a bit on top of the fresh stuff

You don’t have to get it right away though, you can start with new leafy greens first if you wantsome don’t really take to this stuff, others love it, our red foot does.
If she’s only been eating pellets for years, she might take quite a while to warm up to new foods, take it little by little and try not to get discouragedthis article might be helpful

Introducing a Healthier Diet

Introducing a Healthier Diet

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Definitely some pyramiding, she’s likely been raised too dry with incorrect lighting. I’m sure she’s going to have a much more comfortable life with you❤