Large white line on sulcata shell

[Sheps]

Hello all,

I was redirected here from Reddit and told to ask for TOM. My 2.5 year old Sulcata has this white line growing larger on their shell. I originally thought it was a growth line when it was smaller. I have a vet appointment next week. Eats hay and pellets with added calcium powder + cuttlebone in enclosure. Enclosure is indoors 9 ft × 5 ft. Has UVB and separate heat in enclosure. Also gets outside time 3x week. Soaks every other day. Looking to figure out what this is so I can stop freaking out till vet next week.

 

[SinLA]

adding @Tom but there are also lots of others who can help. @Yvonne G

 

[Sheps]

Hello all,

I was redirected here from Reddit and told to ask for TOM. My 2.5 year old Sulcata has this white line growing larger on their shell. I originally thought it was a growth line when it was smaller. I have a vet appointment next week. Eats hay and pellets with added calcium powder + cuttlebone in enclosure. Enclosure is indoors 9 ft × 5 ft. Has UVB and separate heat in enclosure. Also gets outside time 3x week. Soaks every other day. Looking to figure out what this is so I can stop freaking out till vet next week.

Adding that their shell is not soft, the white line is not soft/squishy, and they are still active and eating well.

 

[zovick]

Hello all,

I was redirected here from Reddit and told to ask for TOM. My 2.5 year old Sulcata has this white line growing larger on their shell. I originally thought it was a growth line when it was smaller. I have a vet appointment next week. Eats hay and pellets with added calcium powder + cuttlebone in enclosure. Enclosure is indoors 9 ft × 5 ft. Has UVB and separate heat in enclosure. Also gets outside time 3x week. Soaks every other day. Looking to figure out what this is so I can stop freaking out till vet next week.

The photo resolution is too low for me to zoom in on that area and tell exactly what it is, but there are two possibilities.

First, the white line could be new growth which is occurring somewhat abnormally in your tortoise. Normally the white lines would be around the borders of ALL the scutes and not just concentrated on one or two particular seams the way it is in your tortoise.

The second possibilitty is that the widest area of white in the seam between the first and second vertebral scutes could be exposed bone due to the scutes separating at that seam area for some unknown reason.

 

[Sarah2020]

It does not look like normal growth. Are you overdoing something in the diet that is surging the growth? Read the care sheets to ensure settings, heat, light, temps etc... are good and check food intake is fresh . Calcium is good but in moderation.

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org