Problem with the belly?

Iclements

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I have a 3 year old Greek tortoise. We have her since a baby. I could always see a separation line. But now it looks like a circle. The shell is not soft but the belly has a slight indentation right there. Anyone knows what this is?

Thanks, Ines
2BCAAF47-28D0-4929-8028-114197E35CF6.jpeg3D584428-F27C-4647-989F-E401DAC455B4.jpeg
 

Lyn W

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Hi
It looks like a growth line on the carapace, but I don't know about the indentation on the plastron.
Maybe @Yvonne G @zovick @ZenHerper or @Tom have seen that sort of thing before and can help
What sort of substrate are you using?
 

Tom

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I think it looks exaggerated because its wet, but that picture doesn't give me cause for alarm. What substrate is the tortoise on? Is it damp? Does the tortoise get outside time in a large enclosure in warmer weather? What do you typically feed the tortoise?

Answers to these questions can help us make a little better guess about what might be going on.

HEY! Welcome to the forum! :D
 

zovick

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T
I have a 3 year old Greek tortoise. We have her since a baby. I could always see a separation line. But now it looks like a circle. The shell is not soft but the belly has a slight indentation right there. Anyone knows what this is?

Thanks, Ines
View attachment 340786View attachment 340785
The tortoise has small extra scutes within the two abdominal scutes on either side of the midline. The extra scutes are possibly just growing at a different rate than the rest of the scutes causing the slight depression.

Also your tortoise may well be a male from what I can see of its tail, which would also cause a concavity to begin forming in the center of the plastron at approximately this age. Hence, there may be two factors causing this slight depression.

In essence, I wouldn't worry about this.

PS: I live in the Atlanta area also. Where are you located? Just curious.
 

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