shell changes

[marcy4hope]

i have been noticing over just the past month that my sulcata's shell is changing. it's been pretty smooth so far except he has this one scott towards his rear end that is lower than the one above it. it's always been like that since i first had him. but is getting just a little bit more pronounced this month. you can sort of see it in this photo.

but now i'm also starting to notice the signs of just a little bit of pyramiding on him. he's a year old now and 5 inches. my hubby tells me to stop worrying about it, he still looks good and will never be "perfect". i am checking out any changes i've made in the past month to see what i need to go back to doing that i've been slack in.

 

[lovelyrosepetal]

Wow, beautiful tortoise and beautiful shell. I am not sure what you are worrying about. I can't see it from the pictures. Maybe someone else will come along and tell you better, but I am not seeing anything wrong, pyramid wise. I do see the funny scute but since it was like that since it hatched I think it is nothing to worry about. Good job with growing it so smooth.

 

[mainey34]

Looks good to me. I do not see any pyramiding at all. Just keep doing what you are doing. You will find some flaws some bumps, but they are never perfect. Yours looks looks nearly perfect

 

[marcy4hope]

lol ... in my original post i said there was one scott that was lower. lol. i meant scute. my hubby's name is scott though.

 

[Tom]

Yours looks great. Totally normal. The most common variety of sulcata that we have here has a bit of a sloped back like that. I'm sure that is what yours will eventually develop into.

Does your tort get regular sunshine and do you have a UV source indoors? If yes to either or both, you should stop worrying and enjoy your tortoise. You are pretty much out of the woods. Another 3" of growth and you really won't ever have to worry about pyramiding.

 

[Yvonne G]

Wow...he's beautiful! You've done a great job with him this past year. Just make sure he gets plenty of calcium-rich foods and lots of real sunshine.

 

[marcy4hope]

tom - he doesn't get outside right now because it's cold here. he does have a uv bulb on him and i do the calcium and d3. and of course, lots of humidity. i did notice that he'd been soaking himself a lot, but recently with some light changes, he'd stopped doing that. so, i put the lights back the way they were and he started soaking himself in his water dish again. i'm upping the soaks i give him myself also because when i got him out of his enclosure last night i noticed he seemed extremely dry even with all the humidity in his enclosure. he's 5 inches right now. i know i'm a worrier. i just don't like the look of that back scute that looks so wierd. :/

and i do sooooo enjoy him. never thought i'd get this attached to a tort. thinking about a leopard for my next tort, but it's like having another kid and worrying whether you'll love them both equally. lol hope my hubby doesn't see this or he'll think i'm nuts, but he's the same way with his horse.

thanks for all the posts.