Wonky Male Tail

Krista S

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Dozer will be turning 4 years old in May and he weighs a little better than 2 pounds. He grew pretty quickly and has been seemingly happy, healthy and incredibly energetic. Ever since his tail started to lengthen, he’s always carried it differently than what I’ve seen from other male tortoises. Most males walk with their tail tucked to one side and have it completely wrapped around their back end. Doze’s tail does not seem to be capable of doing that. He always has his tail tucked to one side or the other, but the last 1/3 of his tail is always bent outwards. If I try to gently move it to the side, it just won’t go, but I wasn’t willing to put much of any pressure on it. I always thought maybe when he gets a bit bigger he’ll carry it properly but that just hasn’t happened and I assume he’s pretty much full grown now as he’s between 7 and 7.5”. I’m curious if anyone has seen this before? Is this something I should be worried about and get X-rays for? It doesn’t seem to cause him any discomfort, but I notice the part that sticks out seems to get in the way at times. It was hard to get pictures that captured it properly, so that’s why there’s so many different angles.

Any thoughts about this are appreciated.

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Cathie G

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Sorry, I know this is a ridiculous answer but... human teenagers grow funny too. Certain parts grow faster or slower and they're kind of wonky until they are full grown. I'm not a tortoise expert 🤗. Maybe s/he's concentrating on that beautiful shell right now (and it is sooo beautiful) and will catch up on the tail later.😊
 

Krista S

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Thank you both very much for your opinion on this. He won’t be a breeder, but when he does try to get “friendly“ with a rock or anything that catches his eye, that odd shaped tail does seem to cause some grief. It’s almost like he ends up using it as a kick stand to help hold himself up 😂. I just want the best for him and to try and prevent a long term issue if this looked really troublesome to some of you pros.
 

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