Reading into the shells. What can we learn from a hatchling's shell condition?

SanctuaryHills

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OK so here are some pics of my Aldabra hatchlings which I've owned for about a month. All three seem to be doing just fine and I have no health concerns to report at the moment.

What I'd like to know is what, if anything, we are able to discern by examining the shells of our growing turtoises. Obviously with an emphasis on possible health issues.

Happy tortoise Tuesday everyone!
 

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wellington

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Personally the only thing I think can be seen in a shell at a young age is how they were started.
Pyramiding in such a small tort says started dry. Yours is showing slight pyramiding. Also if growth rings/scutes look dry and crackly, another sign of too dry.
Little dents, which some torts have, may be a sign too of dry start. That's just a guess.
 

SanctuaryHills

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Personally the only thing I think can be seen in a shell at a young age is how they were started.
Pyramiding in such a small tort says started dry. Yours is showing slight pyramiding. Also if growth rings/scutes look dry and crackly, another sign of too dry.
Little dents, which some torts have, may be a sign too of dry start. That's just a guess.
Yup I definitely noticed the slight pyramiding, specially since I had quite a few to pick from. But I sat there and made my picks based of how much I liked their energy and crap (literally) ?.

Cosmetics was secondary, but I figured with some time and love I could get them a bit smoother. They are getting their daily soaks and they have never seen the humidity levels under 60% here in my south Florida jungle. ?

Hopefully I'm better than the last guy ?. Lol I'll see my way out.
 

dd33

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When I was at the Daytona reptile show a few weeks ago there was a larger aldabra for sale in a bin. I don't know how old it was, perhaps 2 or 3 but it could have been much older. I noticed that its legs looked odd. They were long and skinny and not in proportion to the shell at all. The elbows seemed to stick out too far forward in the front.
Since then I have seen photos of other Aldabras here and on Facebook especially that have the same or similar appearance. Often times it looks like these same animals have been kept in than optimal habitats.

It is well known how important it is to have good leg strength / bone development and muscle structure for these giant tortoises. I wonder if you can see that the opportunity to develop this has already passed when a tortoise is still very young.

My question would be, what can we learn from the legs of these guys when they are still small?
 

wellington

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Yup I definitely noticed the slight pyramiding, specially since I had quite a few to pick from. But I sat there and made my picks based of how much I liked their energy and crap (literally) ?.

Cosmetics was secondary, but I figured with some time and love I could get them a bit smoother. They are getting their daily soaks and they have never seen the humidity levels under 60% here in my south Florida jungle. ?

Hopefully I'm better than the last guy ?. Lol I'll see my way out.
I'm sure your care will help, but I find it hard to stop pyramiding once it has started. I believe it can be slowed and lessened but I do think once it has started, it will get a little worse. Even though, I think they still can be healthy whether smooth or not.
 

SanctuaryHills

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I'm sure your care will help, but I find it hard to stop pyramiding once it has started. I believe it can be slowed and lessened but I do think once it has started, it will get a little worse. Even though, I think they still can be healthy whether smooth or not.
Doesn't bother me too much :) as long as my little dinosaous are healthy.
 
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