Shell Problem?
- Thread starter Dcatalano
- Start date
Its a little bit of the underlying bone, the shell has chipped or broken away. Any idea how it happened? What is the torts enclosure like, your in colorado so its very dry atmosphere and if the shell is too dry it can make it more susceptible to this kind of damage. It isnt an emergency but you should try to figure out how it happened and eliminate the risk if possible, and you should think about if your torts shell condition is good or if it is too dry.
Indication things are too dry are using a dry substrate, also using an MVB, things like that.
Indication things are too dry are using a dry substrate, also using an MVB, things like that.
Thank you.
I have no idea how it happened - I just adopted this guy from my kid’s school. He was in a tortoise table enclosure there, with dry substrate/conditions. I’ve been soaking him daily for a week and will move to twice a week going forward. Though the school did a good job over the years, he’ll be happier here and get more care and attention.
What is MVB? I need a key for all the acronyms!
harrythetortoise
Well-Known Member
Mercury vapor bulb
OK - that's not what I have but what has been recommended. Are you saying I should not use one with my Russian? I currently have a basking light and separate UV light for winter. I'll be building an enclosure outside for daytime in the summer.
harrythetortoise
Well-Known Member
I believe MVBs were popular before but it has been found that they can lead to shell desiccation and/or pyramided growths. I learned from here that incandescent flood light bulbs (such as Philips) that you can get from a hardware store are good for basking lights, and for UVB use tube type such as T5 HO's.
What kind of UVB light are you using? For reference the coil bulbs are no good for torts. The best option are the t5 tube lights, a single 22 inch light would be fine, but tbh, colorado is always sunny, if you can get the tort an hour outdoors around midday 2-3 times a week most weeks it will get enough UVB. It can also live outside from probably May - september nearly. In the winter months you probably need some artificial supplementation to cover the coldest periods but the tort can go out for short periods even if its 50-60 degrees if its in full sun.
It sounds like it will have had a very dry upbringing but you can get that corrected now, not just with soaks, the tort needs a 'humid hide' and needs a good deep damp substrate.
I dont know if you have seen the care sheet but ill post the link and have a good look
The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise | Tortoise Forum
Russian tortoises have rough-looking shells. It's because (maybe not so much anymore) of the way they are gathered up from the wild and transported.
The tortoises are gathered by the hundreds, tossed into small holding areas where they poop and pee all over each other and climb all over each other, getting dings and nicks in their shells.
If you ever see that rare, perfect little specimen chances are it's captive bred.
That little nick in your tortoise's carapace is a spot where his shell was bumped hard enough to cause a tiny bit of the keratin to come off. It's not causing him any pain or discomfort and requires no attention from you.
The tortoises are gathered by the hundreds, tossed into small holding areas where they poop and pee all over each other and climb all over each other, getting dings and nicks in their shells.
If you ever see that rare, perfect little specimen chances are it's captive bred.
That little nick in your tortoise's carapace is a spot where his shell was bumped hard enough to cause a tiny bit of the keratin to come off. It's not causing him any pain or discomfort and requires no attention from you.
Thank you!
If it was a problem that would get worse, I didn’t want to wait on it. I don’t know his history beyond the last 10 years at the school. That ding appears to have been there a while - I looked back at some pictures after this posted. Glad it’s ok.
This is helpful. I plan to use the UVB light only during winter. The rest of the time natural sunlight outdoors. I have a reptile light that is the small coil kind. Would any t5 tube light do? They vary greatly in price but I want to be sure it’s going to provide UVB when needed.
No connection to the seller just picked this link off google but this is the light kit you want, need to get the 12% or 14% bulbs. They dont provide heat so that has to be separate but you can use a simple flood lamp for that and theyre cheap.
Thank you! I am wondering if a local grow store would have a light like this one that I can use for UVB. The link and information is really helpful.
A reptile shop might have these as they are specific to reptiles. You might have to ask them to order it for you but they are the same price nearly everywhere. You could buy a cheaper T5 reflector and ballast kit, I have seen them as cheap as 10 dollars but the bulbs are 20-30 bucks so your not saving a huge amount going with something that isnt quite as good. I would advise finding a good online reptile retailer in the US, im sure some members here can reccomend one. @Yvonne G any online retailer reccomendations, I dont keep up on the US sites?
