Cherryhead plastron

[redfootdood]

I ordered a baby cherry head a couple of weeks ago. It showed up to me with some white on the plastron and a strange wrinkled looking area near the center and some whiteness on the new growth of the shell (doesn't look like marbling). Very timid eater at first and still doesn't chow down like a hatchling that I got from another source, but does eat. I keep two hatchling cherryheads on peat moss. One warm end at about 90 degrees and then the other end has a humid hide. I soak them for at least 15 - 30 minutes every day. The other hatchling (from different source) is just fine.

Any ideas?

 

[wellington]

I don't have much knowledge of rf or ch, but the shell looks dry to me. The wrinkle belly, I believe is nothing to worry about, just the way the egg sack area closed. Not sure about the other whiter spots on the plastron. Doesn't sound like you did, but you should not have put the two together without a quarantine first. Just a good safe step to take for next time.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Dood, and welcome to the Forum!!

It might be the start of shell rot. Are you keeping the substrate pretty wet?

 

[redfootdood]

Hi Dood, and welcome to the Forum!!

It might be the start of shell rot. Are you keeping the substrate pretty wet?

I keep it damp, but not puddling up wet. Sometimes the substrate on the hotter side dries up, but I re-wet it. The humid hide always stays damp and they use it. Like I said, it came to me this way and hasn't really gotten worse, but hasn't gotten better either.

 

[redfootdood]

I don't have much knowledge of rf or ch, but the shell looks dry to me. The wrinkle belly, I believe is nothing to worry about, just the way the egg sack area closed. Not sure about the other whiter spots on the plastron. Doesn't sound like you did, but you should not have put the two together without a quarantine first. Just a good safe step to take for next time.

I'm not sure the whiteness is due to dryness. I do a good job to make sure they're rarely dry, but I still won't completely rule it out. As for the wrinkle, it would be nice if that was just from the egg sack.


If it helps any, the plastron doesn't seem to be soft/mushy or flakey at all. I've lightly scratched at it with my fingernail and it's pretty solid..