Shell questions

[irEric]

So I have some questions about my tort's shell. Not that i think these are serious but just curious and wanted to be educated on it.

First i noticed the parts of her shell that stick out seem to be growing, which I'm happy to see. They are semi transparent though like finger nails. I'm assuming they will become opaque because they are just 'fresh'?

Second I've also noticed these fingerprint like markings on her shell. I thought this was super neat, and just wanted to know if it is just a fingerprint or any indication of anything else.

Third, this isn't a shell question but I've been going through her poo, quite firm and not slimey. But i've found bits of cypress mulch in her poo. The diameter are like the size of toothpicks and the length is about or less than the size of the stool. I noticed this in the past couple of samples, and glad to see she's passing them out, and not getting stuck internally. I feed her inside the enclosure but on a rubbermaid lid.

 

[PeanutbuttER]

I think those markings are very pretty and they don't seem to happen to everyone. From what I've read on here, the general consensus is that it's a passing thing that won't cause any harm. Eventually they'll fade away.

But for now, they're very pretty.

 

[Tracy Gould]

my little one as these finger print marks too i notice them this morning

 

[Tom]

I notice the squiggly lines on the rare occasion the my baby sulcatas start to dry out. Seems to have to do with growth and shell hydration. I don't know for sure what it is or why it appears, but it doesn't seem to hurt anything. This is giving me another idea about pyramiding. I'll bring that up on another post though.

Don't have an answer for your first question. I have not observed that in any tort I've raised and I can't see anything abnormal in the pic.

For your third question, I think that this could be a problem. The pieces you describe seem to large and its just a question of time until one lodges in the intestine or punctures the intestinal wall. If it were my tortoise, I would switch to a substrate with smaller pieces that would more easily pass through if accidentally ingested.

 

[Yvonne G]

A long time ago, I had heard that these little squiggly lines were the calcium working its way through the shell material. Folks with more experience than I have since told me that no, this is not the case. So, sorry, I don't know why these lines appear, I just know that they do, and they are not harmful.

 

[egyptiandan]

As to your first question, that part of the marginal scute doesn't have any bone underneath it (that's why it's transparent). That though is how it should be. As the tortoise gets older and adds more scute material (it gets thicker) it will become more opaque.
As to your second question, the squiggly lines are perfectly normal and become less noticable as the tortoise gets older and the scute gets thicker.

Danny

 

[Tracy Gould]

Shelby gets the transparent edges too i have never worried about this as i thought i was a normal part of shell growth as the shell gets longer too and figured it would go opaque as she got bigger thanks Danny for confirming this as it does not take much to get me worried and seeing posts about problems make me worry about Shelby if i have seen it in her too lol

 

[HarleyK]

Yeah about those fingernail-like projections....I asked the same question last month and it is completely normal.