Soft shell

[hunterk997]

I picked up my hermann's tortoise a little bit ago to put her into her hide, and the bottom of her shell felt... weird. I'm not sure if it was "soft," or if the bottom sections of her shell are just slightly indented in. I can check her again tomorrow to find out. What exactly does a soft shell feel like? Or will I just know? And is it normal at this age if it is soft? She is around 10 months old.

 

[Levi the Leopard]

My new Leopard hatchlings usually have a soft plastron. But only about as soft as a butter tub lid, if that makes sense. Not squishy.
Then, by 10months their plastron is rock hard unless they suffer from calcium deficiency.
I recently tried to rehab some leopards that were soft. So soft you felt like they were going to squish inbetween your fingers. You know it when they are that bad....

Are you sure yours is 10months old?

Provide an adequate UV source and offer some calcium rich foods. The more outdoor sunning sessions you can provide, the better.

 

[hunterk997]

I got her from LLL reptile and they said they don't have an exact hatch date, just that she is about 10 months old. I can't tell if it's soft or not. I'll try again tomorrow during her soak. I have given her opuntia which I read is high in calcium and I have sprinkled calcium powder on her food once this week so far. She got mazuri yesterday, so hopefully if it is soft it will get better.
A little off topic, at the age of ten months, is there still a chance of hatchling failure syndrome? Could this be a sign of it? She is eating fine, being soaked daily, she just hasn't urinated or defecated.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

What are the temps in their pen ? And you say they haven't went potty yet not even in their warm bathes. ?

 

[hunterk997]

What are the temps in their pen ? And you say they haven't went potty yet not even in their warm bathes. ?

Her basking spot is usually 95, warm side stays around 84, cool side in the high 70's and at night it drops at the most to 75. Could she just have a minor calcium deficiency if her shell is a bit soft? Can it be cured by simply adding more calcium to the diet? I can't taker her outside for a while, being winter and all.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I would leave the basking area 94 but I
Would do away with the cool spots and make everything else 84 until the shell firms up and give it a warm bath every day for about a 1/2 hour

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I would leave the basking area 94 but I
Would do away with the cool spots and make everything else 84 until the shell firms up and give it a warm bath every day for about a 1/2 hour

 

[hunterk997]

Her shell isn't soft, which is relieving. I picked her up today, and felt her shell. It's all good. I don't know why I thought it was soft to begin with.

 

[Grandpa Turtle 144]

I'm happy to hear everything is ok then just give a full dose of love good luck