Unusual shell deformity?

[yeah_about_that]

Hi tortoise people! This is a Russian that I'm going to adopt from a friend. It's been bought about 2(?) years ago and its living situation has seemingly been horrible up to this point (free roaming on the floor, no heat lamp, questionable choice of food). There are a few health concerns I'll have to check out but the main one is the really weird shell shape. Is this stunted growth? Lack of calcium, maybe? (sorry for the photo quality, taken in a bit of a rush)

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Oh poor thing, this tortoise looks to have MBD(metabolic bone disease) that sloped shell is a common indicatorwhilst there’s no reversing the damage done to the growth, there’s no reason he won’t be able to live comfortably with better husbandry moving forward, I’m so glad he’s making his way to someone caring.

Please go over these links, I’ll think you’ll find them super useful, a lot of other sources give outdated care information

Great one for new comers

Info For New People. Please Read This First.

Hello and welcome to tortoiseforum.org! We are all glad you are here! There is no other forum like this anywhere. We have tens of thousands of members from all over the world ranging from kids with their first tortoise to people who have been breeding and keeping high end tortoises since the...

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Toms care guide

The Best Way To Raise Any Temperate Species Of Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies and care for adults? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. What is...

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This one covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, I’d double check bulb types), sizing(you can get away with slightly smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits, but still sizeable, the bigger the better, no more free roaming), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

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This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it. I know the recommended adult size is intimidating to some, especially if you’ve been lead into thinking he’ll be fine in a smaller set up(very common) but tortoises long term health really does rely on lots of roaming room. If you’re unable to go that big, go as big as possible

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

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This one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

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Really hope they help! Sorry it’s a lot to go over, but take all the time you need and feel free to ask any further questions, they’ll always be someone around to break information down, we can help step by step. Welcome to the forum and thank you for taking this guy on!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Welcome to the forum! I agree on the MBD. Is the tortoise able to lift its shell or does it drag the back of the shell and/or back legs?

 

[yeah_about_that]

Welcome to the forum! I agree on the MBD. Is the tortoise able to lift its shell or does it drag the back of the shell and/or back legs?

Yes. It generally doesn't walk very well but I thought it's from living on the hard floor

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Yes. It generally doesn't walk very well but I thought it's from living on the hard floor

It could be both MBD and living on the hard wood floors. MBD has been caused by previous care too, inadequate diet and lighting.