White lines on shell top

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May 1, 2016
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My redfoot has developed white in the cracks of his shell, what is this? Also I think his shell is starting to pyramid a little, how do I fix this??

Humidity stays in the 80's and he is on a thermostat so that the enclosure stays at 80 degrees on one side and 75 on the other.
He is eating mostly collard greens, mustard greens and shredded zucchini and squash. I sprinkle his food with calcium every Friday and he gets the occasional fruit and chicken.

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DutchieAmanda

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The white lines are new growth, so don't worry about that.
Pyramiding is caused by a low humidity, but 80% sounds good. Do you have an open or closed top? And do you have a basking light? The shell could also get dry if the tort sits under a hot light often.
 

Yvonne G

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He looks pretty darned good to me, and yeah, what Amanda said!
 

Tom

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I agree that your white lines are areas of new growth.

I'm not a RF expert, but it sounds to me like your temps are a little too low.

Collard and mustard greens are okay once in a while, but not as primary food sources. If you must use grocery store food because weeds and leaves are not available over winter, favor endive and escarole as your staples and use those other ones are variety once in a while. Also add a lot more variety like turnip greens, cilantro, carrot tops, celery tops, green beans, bean sprouts, water cress, and look for some "nopales" and "la tuna" in your area too. These are cactus pads and cactus fruits respectively. Sold for human consumption.
 
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I thought the growth lines like that only appeared in cherryheads so that's why I was concerned?

I will go pick some of that up right now Tom! I didn't know he could have half of that stuff, I was relying solely on the list in my redfoot tortoise book. I actually do grow and feed Opuntia spineless cactus and a seed mix I grow that I purchased specifically for redfoots from one of the big seed companies.

As for his enclosure, its a closed enclosure with the uvb strip light on the back and a ceramic heat emitter on one side that is on a thermostat. There are no other lights. My book says the ambient temperature throughout the enclosure should be 80 so thats what I have it set to, should I change this?

Also right now his bedding is a combination of moss and cypress mulch, is there something else I can use to maintain the humidity better? Coconut coir is not an option because I have tried it in three different tanks and it grows mold every time even with me properly squeezing out the excess water and allowing the top layer to dry out.
 

Tom

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I thought the growth lines like that only appeared in cherryheads so that's why I was concerned?

I will go pick some of that up right now Tom! I didn't know he could have half of that stuff, I was relying solely on the list in my redfoot tortoise book. I actually do grow and feed Opuntia spineless cactus and a seed mix I grow that I purchased specifically for redfoots from one of the big seed companies.

As for his enclosure, its a closed enclosure with the uvb strip light on the back and a ceramic heat emitter on one side that is on a thermostat. There are no other lights. My book says the ambient temperature throughout the enclosure should be 80 so thats what I have it set to, should I change this?

Also right now his bedding is a combination of moss and cypress mulch, is there something else I can use to maintain the humidity better? Coconut coir is not an option because I have tried it in three different tanks and it grows mold every time even with me properly squeezing out the excess water and allowing the top layer to dry out.

If your thermostat is set to 80, then it shouldn't be dropping to 75 on the cool side. Maybe move the thermostat probe over to that cooler side, so it will stay on long enough to get that spot warmer.

If your ambient is 80, how does the tortoise warm up above that? I'm aware that RFs don't need a hot basking area like some species, but an over all of 75-80 doesn't seem warm enough to me. I will defer to any RF keeper that has better advice in this area. @ZEROPILOT , or any other RF keepers, any input here?

If your substrate is working for you, I wouldn't change a thing.
 
Joined
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Here is a current picture of what the temps are right now. Sometimes it stays in the 80's but other times like at night when the lights are off in the room, the temp drops to 75/76 on the cooler side. He is currently hiding in the pot.
 

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