Baby box turtle's vertebral scutes

[TortsNTurtles]

These little guys have doubled in size since I got them from 10g & 12grams to 21g and 23g. Since Tutor has grown some I have noticed the vertebral scutes a little more. I noticed an extra scute but also the vertebral scutes themselves are different . Her shell is growing more oval and not as high as Leo who has the normal shell pattern. Is this just cosmetic or is it a concern? She seems healthy otherwise and the more outgoing and greedy of the two. These two are very entertaining.

 

[Yvonne G]

I had one years ago that had a double row of vertebral scutes too. She looked slightly deformed when she was an adult turtle, and a bit smaller than the other ones, but other than that, she was perfectly normal.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

I had one years ago that had a double row of vertebral scutes too. She looked slightly deformed when she was an adult turtle, and a bit smaller than the other ones, but other than that, she was perfectly normal.

Thanks! I was hoping it was nothing to worry about.

 

[Nijia_Tortoise]

That will make him/her special.

 

[Dean Wirth]

I wouldn't worry about it, turtles have fixed spines, reinforced with a layer of bone and shell. A bad back is not a hindrance for a turtle, which is why this happens quite often and gets passed on through generations. one of mine has a bad formation in spine (I named him Lump and he's fine, in time the shell kind of fixes itself as it grows.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

My baby boxies are growing . I can remember getting them last year for Valentines Day and they were only 10g & 12g being scared to death because they were so tiny. They are so fun I can't wait to plan a bigger turtle garden for them this year. This forum is awesome!

 

[MPRC]

Yay for updated photos! Looks like shes grown fairly normally.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

Yay for updated photos! Looks like shes grown fairly normally.

Thank you! Yes, her shell is a little oval but is healthy and active.