Hi, I'm new here, and excited to get to know everyone. My first post is about my first Sulcata: "Maximus." Max was apparently found wandering in the Utah desert by someone from the fish and game, and through a series of coincidences, has ended up in my permanent care. He seems quite robust and healthy, although his shell has some obvious pyramiding. My primary concern, however, is what appears to be an old shell injury.
You can see here, that the front right scute of his carapace is very small and crooked. It almost looks like he got crushed at some point. It doesn't seem to be a hindrance to his mobility, and, as I said, he seems perfectly healthy otherwise. I am concerned, however, at how much smaller that scute is than the rest of his carapace. Has anyone ever seen an injury like this? My main worry is whether or not his growth is stunted or if the injured portion might stop growing and further aggravate the deformity as the rest of him grows around it. I'd love to hear any thoughts that the members of this forum might have.
Other questions/thoughts: I have no idea how old this tortoise is. I've read quite a few growth charts and threads here now. Max weighs approximately 25 lbs, so if he's growing normally, I'd say he's between 5 and 8 years old. However, given his injury, I don't know that normal growth is necessarily a given in this situation. Again, I know there's no definitive way to tell, but I'd love to hear some guesses and/or opinions. Here are two more pictures for reference. Thanks!
You can see here, that the front right scute of his carapace is very small and crooked. It almost looks like he got crushed at some point. It doesn't seem to be a hindrance to his mobility, and, as I said, he seems perfectly healthy otherwise. I am concerned, however, at how much smaller that scute is than the rest of his carapace. Has anyone ever seen an injury like this? My main worry is whether or not his growth is stunted or if the injured portion might stop growing and further aggravate the deformity as the rest of him grows around it. I'd love to hear any thoughts that the members of this forum might have.
Other questions/thoughts: I have no idea how old this tortoise is. I've read quite a few growth charts and threads here now. Max weighs approximately 25 lbs, so if he's growing normally, I'd say he's between 5 and 8 years old. However, given his injury, I don't know that normal growth is necessarily a given in this situation. Again, I know there's no definitive way to tell, but I'd love to hear some guesses and/or opinions. Here are two more pictures for reference. Thanks!
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