Bumpy/deformed shells

[Kara Miller]

2 of my sulcata babies/hatchlings out of the 33 that hatched in my yard in Hawaii have bumpy/misshapen shells on the top & bottom.. I soak them daily & they all eat well, even the deformed looking ones.. I was hoping it would straighten itself out by now.. but looks like it's staying the same, any ideas.. much mahalos

 

[JoesMum]

Photos would help

 

[Yvonne G]

Usually bumpy shells happen because the babies are being kept too dry, however, since you have others in the same clutch that aren't bumpy, I don't know what to tell you. Maybe they're just suffering from some sort of birth defect.

 

[Tom]

Bumpy on bottom is fairly normal. It will be less noticeable as the tortoise grows.

Bumpy on top is called pyramiding and it is common when tortoise babies are raised either outdoors all day and night, regardless of climate, or indoors in an enclosure that is too dry.

 

[Kara Miller]

Photos

 

[Redfool]

I’ve seen this bumpiness when hatchlings get dry when halfway out of their egg shell. Their carapace and plastron are very conformed to the shape of the egg and they “stretch” out when they hatch. This is why hatchlings are bigger than their egg. When they only come half out of the egg only the part outside can stretch. From what I’ve seen with my RFs this is what causes these bumps/wrinkles. I always mist hatchlings when pipping or half out of shell so they don’t dry out while constricted. I also remove any dried egg shell from them. They do grow out of this, usually the plastron before the carapace due to less bone density. Just give em time.