Shell Shedding?

Caseyaceae

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Hello,

we have an adopted Russian tortoise, from a previous owner, who is 1.75 years old. For a while it looks like her shell was shedding. Something about her shell seemed off as I was looking at it. If anyone can tell me if this looks like it’s shedding or something else (hopefully not shell rot, etc) that would be great.

Her temps are 90-95 in the basking, 75 in the cool, 75 at night with humidity between 40-50. She has aspen, forest floor and coco fiber for her substrate.
Any info would be great. Thanks
 

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Yvonne G

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Your tortoise is appx. eight or nine years old, almost full grown. The new growth looks like it's being burned. It's very dry. How close to the tortoise's shell are the lights/heat?
 

Caseyaceae

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No sorry, she is only 1 year and 8 months old. The light from the is about 9 inches above the ground and heat is around 8. She is not always directly below the heat or light source. Here is a photo of enclosure.
 

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Yvonne G

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The people you got the tortoise from may have only had it a little over a year, but it's older than that. I promise you, that tortoise is a lot older than a year!
 

Yvonne G

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No sorry, she is only 1 year and 8 months old. The light from the is about 9 inches above the ground and heat is around 8. She is not always directly below the heat or light source. Here is a photo of enclosure.
The CHE in the picture is too close to the top of the tortoise's shell. . . not the ground, the tortoise's shell.
 

Caseyaceae

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The people you got the tortoise from may have only had it a little over a year, but it's older than that. I promise you, that tortoise is a lot older than a year!
We’ll We’ve had two separate Vets that have told us she is under 2 years
 

Krista S

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No sorry, she is only 1 year and 8 months old. The light from the is about 9 inches above the ground and heat is around 8. She is not always directly below the heat or light source. Here is a photo of enclosure.
There is a lot that needs to change with your enclosure. It looks like you’ve been given a lot of outdated information. Your tortoise actually requires a much larger enclosure. Something closer to 4ft x 8ft and if you can go even bigger, that would be preferable. In the wild tortoises walk miles in a day to help aid in the digestion of their food. It also helps keep muscle tone in their legs, keeps their nails trim, amongst other things. The CHE being so close to the aspen (aspen isn’t recommended for tortoise substrate) is a fire waiting to happen. Clamp lamps will all fail eventually. We’ve seen it many times on the forum, killing tortoises and causing fires. It would be best to find another way to secure the fixture asap. As for the height on the CHE, you really need to let your thermometer be your guide. Use digital thermometers in place of the little dial ones. They’re known to be wildly inaccurate. For the UV, the height you need it at will depend on what bulb you’re using. If it’s a T5 HO (10.0 or 12%) then you’ll want to have it closer to 16-18” above ground level.

Here is an excellent care sheet that will explain more about the requirements for your tortoise. If you have any specific questions or are unclear about anything after you read it, don’t hesitate to ask.

 
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