Whats happened to my shell ?! (white squiggly lines)

Status
Not open for further replies.

Esme and Torty

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Only recently I have noticed these little swirls on his shell get worse, they were very faint before but now it has raised concern. He's still his chirpy self, I just hope this isnt a bad sign :(

Love, Esme and Torty x
 

Attachments

  • 20130827_192502.jpg
    20130827_192502.jpg
    587.7 KB · Views: 348
  • 20130827_193613.jpg
    20130827_193613.jpg
    667.8 KB · Views: 332
  • 20130827_193617.jpg
    20130827_193617.jpg
    690.2 KB · Views: 305
  • 20130827_193638.jpg
    20130827_193638.jpg
    604.7 KB · Views: 261
  • 20130827_193645.jpg
    20130827_193645.jpg
    519.4 KB · Views: 233
  • 20130827_194045.jpg
    20130827_194045.jpg
    910.2 KB · Views: 229

wellington

Well-Known Member
Moderator
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Joined
Sep 6, 2011
Messages
49,655
Location (City and/or State)
Chicago, Illinois, USA
RE: Whats happened to my shell ?!

I can't remember what they are called or caused by. I do know they are nothing to worry about.
 

felicia9211

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Aug 10, 2013
Messages
37
Re: Whats happened to my shell ?!

Growth lines I believe, could be wrong tho

Sent from my GT-P5113 using TortForum mobile app
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
RE: Whats happened to my shell ?!

We've had a couple of threads on these squiggly lines. Can't seem to reach a consensus on what they are or what they do, but they are totally normal and there is nothing wrong. They tend to show up more after soaks.
 

guille24

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2013
Messages
855
Location (City and/or State)
wisconsin
Whats happened to my shell ?!

One of my Russians has the same thing I put some athlete's foot Cream on the shell but the lines just don't go away , I notice they appear more visible after I soak my tortoise so I try not to get the top of the shell wet, after soaking my tortoise I let her dry and put some athlete's foot cream on the shell just in case
 

yagyujubei

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Oct 16, 2010
Messages
2,407
Location (City and/or State)
Amish Country
RE: Whats happened to my shell ?!

Stop with the athletes foot cream.
guille24 said:
One of my Russians has the same thing I put some athlete's foot Cream on the shell but the lines just don't go away , I notice they appear more visible after I soak my tortoise so I try not to get the top of the shell wet, after soaking my tortoise I let her dry and put some athlete's foot cream on the shell just in case
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
RE: Whats happened to my shell ?!

And let the top of the shell get wet every day too. It helps it grow normally.
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
RE: Whats happened to my shell ?!

The little white squiggly lines are inside the keratin. Any topicals you put on the shell won't have any affect on them.

The lines are perfectly normal and you see it quite a bit in the Mediterranean species of tortoises when they'r actively growing youngsters.
 

guille24

Active Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Feb 11, 2013
Messages
855
Location (City and/or State)
wisconsin
My tortoise is about 8 inches long so that means she's still growing ??
 

mikeh

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 16, 2013
Messages
1,050
Another species it is highly visible is Manouria, due to their dark color, it can even be seen in their spurs.

sent from mobile device using TFO app
 

james1974

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2013
Messages
253
Location (City and/or State)
Illinois
Do these lines disappear as they get older?Does over feeding and humidity play a role in these lines?Im real curious about this...

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TortForum mobile app
 

Yvonne G

Old Timer
TFO Admin
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 23, 2008
Messages
93,405
Location (City and/or State)
Clovis, CA
Not to get too far off topic, but if a tortoise is allowed plenty of space, so he gets lots of exercise, its hard to over feed them. For instance, if you have a Russian tortoise in a 20 gallon tank, and have food in front of him all the time, he's going to get fat. If you feed that same amount of food to a tortoise that's outside in a large pen, he won't get fat. And the lines have nothing to do with this subject.

I was told years ago that it was the calcium working its way through the keratin. Don't know if this is true or not, but it satisfied my curiosity.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
10 Year Member!
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Jan 9, 2010
Messages
63,265
Location (City and/or State)
Southern California
james1974 said:
Do these lines disappear as they get older?Does over feeding and humidity play a role in these lines?Im real curious about this...

I don't think they disappear. I don't think whatever these lines are doing stops happening. I just think they get harder to see as the shell thickens and weathers with age.

I don't think food has anything to do with these lines. Not sure about humidity. Because the lines become more visible during or after a soak, I suspect humidity might have some effect on them, but I can't say with any certainty. I see these lines the most right after a soak, after my tortoises have been outside sunning in my hot dry climate. Its like the sun and lack of humidity dries the shell out, and the soak water rehydrates the shell and these squiggly lines become very obvious. If the tortoises have been in their humid enclosures and I soak them, the lines aren't nearly so noticeable. I do not have an explanation for this. Only sharing my observations. I see these lines on young russians, sulcatas, and CDTs. All burrowing species BTW. These lines are absent or not as noticeable on leopards, stars or pancakes.
 

kanalomele

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Tortoise Club
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Apr 2, 2012
Messages
1,526
Location (City and/or State)
East Bay area
These lines are not a cause for concern at all. I call them "water lines" because they are a sign of a well hydrated tortoise. As the outer keratin thickens and if the tort gets natural uv from the sun you will see them less and less.
 

immayo

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Dec 7, 2012
Messages
986
Location (City and/or State)
Mesa, AZ
I'm glad someone posted this! I can see these lines on my hypos... probably because they are more visible on a lighter shell than on normal redfoots. I wasn't sure what it was either and tried foot cream with no luck. I'm proud to hear it's nothing bad!!
 

james1974

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jan 13, 2013
Messages
253
Location (City and/or State)
Illinois
Re: RE: Whats happened to my shell ?! (white squiggly lines)

Tom said:
james1974 said:
Do these lines disappear as they get older?Does over feeding and humidity play a role in these lines?Im real curious about this...

I don't think they disappear. I don't think whatever these lines are doing stops happening. I just think they get harder to see as the shell thickens and weathers with age.

I don't think food has anything to do with these lines. Not sure about humidity. Because the lines become more visible during or after a soak, I suspect humidity might have some effect on them, but I can't say with any certainty. I see these lines the most right after a soak, after my tortoises have been outside sunning in my hot dry climate. Its like the sun and lack of humidity dries the shell out, and the soak water rehydrates the shell and these squiggly lines become very obvious. If the tortoises have been in their humid enclosures and I soak them, the lines aren't nearly so noticeable. I do not have an explanation for this. Only sharing my observations. I see these lines on young russians, sulcatas, and CDTs. All burrowing species BTW. These lines are absent or not as noticeable on leopards, stars or pancakes.

Have you seen any difference in tortoises raised outside and tortoises raised inside with theses lines.I have young greeks that have these lines being raised inside but there shell is hard,I just hope they disappear as they get older.There shells are perfect other wise,they have access to calcium 24/7.Plus I see it mostly on young animals so I am hopeful they will disappear anyway.

Sent from my SCH-I535 using TortForum mobile app
 

Esme and Torty

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Jun 24, 2013
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
UK
Thank you so much everyone for your help. I have nothing to worry about, yippy !

Lots of Love,
Esme and Torty xxx
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

New Posts

Top