Thank you.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.
What is MVB? I need a key for all the acronyms!
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.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.
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.
Thank you!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.
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.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
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.
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.
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.