what causes these dents in shell

skippy1988

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WIN_20141202_170025.JPG Skippy is 10 weeks old weights 37g and has some dents in his shell he came this way when I got him. I was wondering what would cause this and if it will go away
 

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parrotlady

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Dents probably occured during incubation. They should disappear over time. I have had babies hatch that was extremely lopsided and others that hatched naturally with some odd dents and they all seem to slowly fade with time. Be patient, and make sure he is kept well hydrated.
 

skippy1988

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Ok I have researched a lot but couldn't seem to find anything about his shell this helps a lot thank you
 

Zeko

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Ok I have researched a lot but couldn't seem to find anything about his shell this helps a lot thank you

He looks like he is in a dry habitat. What is the humidity? These guys need 80-90% 24/7 to grow smoothly.

I would recommend posting pictures of his setup. The valleys between each scute is looking like they are going to pyramid if you keep going the way things are now.

Also, without proper humidity those dents are likely to get worse, not better.
 

Tom

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You've got a problem there and its not those dents. They hatch at 37 grams. By 10 weeks they should be double or triple that. Lack of growth is often a sign of internal organ damage caused by chronic dehydration in the first few days or weeks after hatching. Sadly, most breeders still start them much too dry and don't soak enough.

You've got a choice. Do the best you can and hope this guy makes it, or return him for a refund ASAP and buy another one from a breeder who starts them right. Totally your call and I support either decision. But be aware, that if he dies in a few weeks or months, the breeder will likely tell you that its your fault because the tortoise was totally fine while he had it. That is how this chronic dehydration thing works. There is a long time delay between the damage occurring and the consequences of the damage showing up. Lack of growth in an otherwise normal active baby is a tell tale sign.
 

Cowboy_Ken

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You've got a problem there and its not those dents. They hatch at 37 grams. By 10 weeks they should be double or triple that. Lack of growth is often a sign of internal organ damage caused by chronic dehydration in the first few days or weeks after hatching. Sadly, most breeders still start them much too dry and don't soak enough.

You've got a choice. Do the best you can and hope this guy makes it, or return him for a refund ASAP and buy another one from a breeder who starts them right. Totally your call and I support either decision. But be aware, that if he dies in a few weeks or months, the breeder will likely tell you that its your fault because the tortoise was totally fine while he had it. That is how this chronic dehydration thing works. There is a long time delay between the damage occurring and the consequences of the damage showing up. Lack of growth in an otherwise normal active baby is a tell tale sign.
All of what Tom posts and then the breeder may follow it with a diagnosis of the mysterious, “Failure to thrive syndrome". A fancy sounding issue which in reality is caused from the before mentioned dry starting of hatchlings.
 

Tom

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So he was 23 grams when you got him two weeks ago?

Where did you get him?
 

skippy1988

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I got him 6 days ago. And he was 30g. I got him from a breeder in Sacramento.
 

Tom

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I got him 6 days ago. And he was 30g. I got him from a breeder in Sacramento.

So 30 grams at 10 weeks old? That's not good man. I'm sorry to give you bad news, but if it were the other way around, I would want to know what I was in for. Did I make the wrong call? Should I have said nothing and just let you learn this on your own eventually?

I'm going to guess that the breeder:
1. Left the baby in the incubator while it absorbed its yolk sac.
2. Kept him on some sort of dry substrate in a dry enclosure with low humidity and no humid hide box.
3. Did not have a full time water bowl in there, or at least not a suitable one, if any.
4. Soaked them once a week, if that.

I'd be curious to confirm or deny any of the above. Can you ask the breeder what the routine was right after hatching? What substrate did he use for the last 10 weeks? If they had a water bowl, and if yes, what kind? And finally how often was this baby soaked in those first 10 weeks? We will all learn from this info, if you are able to obtain it.
 
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