Adult Sulcata Tortoise - Shell Damage

[tallahassee]

I currently have two 10 year old adult sulcata tortioses that I've raised from hatchlings. From reading over the many forum posts I consider myself lucky not to have had the issues a lot have encountered.

However, my luck ran out this weekend. One of my tortoises was digging under a fence and popped part of its shell off. There was no bleeding and she doesn't seem to be in any pain. It literally looks like it just popped off.

I've scanned the forum posts and cannot find anything related to this type of issue.

My question is simply: What do I need to do now?

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

That looks like it was previous damage to the digging part that made it pop off. The top of the carapace was more than likely too close to your heat/light source and it got burned. I've seen this quite a bit. There's no need to worry about the exposed bone. Just keep it clean and don't let flies lay eggs on it. It will eventually dry up and won't attract flies anymore. It will take many, many months, maybe even years, but eventually new keratin will grow UNDER that exposed, dead bone and as the new keratin grows and gets bigger than the stationary dead bone, the bone will pop off exposing the new growth underneath.

In the meantime, re-measure how high your light/heat source is from the top of the carapace. It shouldn't be any lower than a foot, but really, if you can provide a different heat source in the shelter than an overhead light, it would be better. Think about a radiant heat panel, maybe.

 

[bouaboua]

Hi, and welcome to the forum!

That looks like it was previous damage to the digging part that made it pop off. The top of the carapace was more than likely too close to your heat/light source and it got burned. I've seen this quite a bit. There's no need to worry about the exposed bone. Just keep it clean and don't let flies lay eggs on it. It will eventually dry up and won't attract flies anymore. It will take many, many months, maybe even years, but eventually new keratin will grow UNDER that exposed, dead bone and as the new keratin grows and gets bigger than the stationary dead bone, the bone will pop off exposing the new growth underneath.

In the meantime, re-measure how high your light/heat source is from the top of the carapace. It shouldn't be any lower than a foot, but really, if you can provide a different heat source in the shelter than an overhead light, it would be better. Think about a radiant heat panel, maybe.

Learn something again. Thank you Yvonne for sharing ! !

 

[tallahassee]

Thank you for the advice and reassurance.

One more question - Do I need to be concerned about her bumping into things with the exposed area? Do I need to take any safety pre-cautions?

 

[Yvonne G]

No. Once it dries out that portion of the shell will actually be dead (no blood supply). It will be every bit as strong as the shell that was over it.