white dead bone on carapace

Yvonne G

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I've been busy re-naming my photos on the computer so I can find them easier. A while back I posted a picture of a rescued Russian that has been dog chewed and most of the scutes' keratin was chewed off showing white, dead bone underneath. I couldn't find the picture where I had popped all the dead bone off the carapace, and thought I had deleted it. But in re-naming my photos, I found it. First the 'before' pictures:

2012 Rescue #11 a.jpg 2012 Rescue #11 b.jpg 2012 Rescue #11 c.jpg

The dead bone was lifting up because the tortoise had continued to grow underneath it and was now bigger than the dead bone. So I picked at it and was able to pop most of it off. This is what it looked like underneath all that white, dead bone:

2012 Rescue #11 8-11-12.jpg

It's not the best image, but you can clearly see new keratin and scutes. They are not as pristine-looking as what was originally on the tortoise, but sort of a miracle, huh? Who would have thought that a new shell would regenerate under that old dead bone.
 
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Yellow Turtle01

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Looks much better, now, though! :) Some dogs...:mad::(
How long do you think it'll take for all the new shell to come in?
 

Yvonne G

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It takes over a year. This little guy was pretty young, so he was still actively growing (size-wise), so it may not have taken that long.
 
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