Burmese star tortoise scute lifting

Plowmandust77

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I've seen a few posts on here about this topic. What are your thoughts on this scute? Large Burmese star tortoise. Can I keep her outside in the rain or get the scute wet? A lot of opinions on this issue.

Thanks
 

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Yvonne G

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If there was damage which caused the bone under that scute to die it's already happened and being in the rain is of no consequence. If the scute comes off, that means that part of the bone underneath the scute has died. Eventually, over many months, even years, new bone will replace the dead bone and new keratin will grow over the new bone. But it won't look like a scute. It will just be keratin covering the bone.
 

Markw84

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That looks like excessive wear, probably from breeding. WIth the pyramiding, the contact is focused on a very small area. A male breeding a female can certainly wear the scute down to the bone. So with the pyramiding and the wear all focused on such a small spot, it is almost inevitable.
 

Tom

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I've seen a few posts on here about this topic. What are your thoughts on this scute? Large Burmese star tortoise. Can I keep her outside in the rain or get the scute wet? A lot of opinions on this issue.

Thanks
I son't see where the scute is "lifting". The wear and tear in the center of that scute is normal and won't hurt anything. Rain won't be an issue as long as temps are warm.

Where are you? Please add location info in your user cp. Different advice for South Florida vs. South Dakota.
 

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