Unusual

Anyfoot

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I think Carl's explanation makes sense. I have two girls that have similar plastrons and are more marbled. The black on their shell does seem "thinner" and the growth not a rigid. If my enclosure was more planted, I could see them looking like this. Their areolas are also not as well defined as the standard cherry.
View attachment 185025View attachment 185026View attachment 185027View attachment 185028View attachment 185029
Is that Bonita's butt in the last one.
Has her areola got bigger as she's aged?
Could it be over time rather than the carapace wearing thin to reveal more of the areola color it's a case of the areola pigment spreads with age. Has Bonita had abrasion on her carapace because she looks very smooth too. Not talking about pyramiding smooth but the actual surface finish of her scutes being very smooth.
 

N2TORTS

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I think Carl's explanation makes sense. I have two girls that have similar plastrons and are more marbled. The black on their shell does seem "thinner" and the growth not a rigid. If my enclosure was more planted, I could see them looking like this. Their areolas are also not as well defined as the standard cherry.

I did not disagree with it ....as Stars are famous for this as well. But a much different shaped tortoise. Your specimens look nice!
 

Anyfoot

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You can actually see on that last shot where she has smooth wear on the scutes, but at the scute boarders there are still prominent growth rings showing. Be nice to see what happens over the coming years with the growth rings that are visible now.
Was this tort every kept in dense foliage?

Btw, I can't get over how beautiful she is, she looks like one of those fancy marbled bowling balls.
 

allegraf

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You can actually see on that last shot where she has smooth wear on the scutes, but at the scute boarders there are still prominent growth rings showing. Be nice to see what happens over the coming years with the growth rings that are visible now.
Was this tort every kept in dense foliage?

Btw, I can't get over how beautiful she is, she looks like one of those fancy marbled bowling balls.
Bonita is the darker one. That is Phoenix. I'll try to take a pic of Big Red. I got Phoenix and Red from a vet that raised them from hatchlings. The back scute is rubbed smooth, but probably from the boys.
 
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