Deformed shell/MBD

[agiletorts]

I recently rescued a greek tortoise with deformed shell, which I think caused by MBD (see the attached picture), but unfortunately I don't really have much other background. I know there are few people in this forum that have gone through this experience before, so could someone share their experiences such as what might cause this MBD, and what should I do to reverse it, if possible? He's about 3 years old now, so I'm still hoping that it still could be reversible and he could live as normal life as possible.

Thanks,
Ray

 

[coreyc]

He don't look bad to me just make sure you give him lots of sun shine a good diet keep him hydrated he should be fine do you have any more pic's of him ?

 

[dmarcus]

Unless I am missing something, that tortoise looks very good...

 

[Laura]

does he walk ok or seem a bit weak in the hind end? the slope seems a bit pronounced.. but no bumps!

 

[l0velesly]

He doesn't look pyramided but his shell does have an odd slope at the back.. maybe he was born that way?

 

[ascott]

It can be brought on by poor diet and/or lack of uvb rays....I have to say that he is unique and beautiful....he appears to be lifted up well on all fours.....

 

[Jacqui]

In a way, it doesn't really matter why his shell is like this. Whether it's a birth issue, MBD (metabolic bone disease), or whatever. You can't go back and change or correct any of that. All you can do is focus on the now and the future. Giving him a proper diet, proper environment with lots of sunshine and room to move around are going to work wonders. It looks like he is getting that from you now. Just keep it up.

 

[Jacob]

Looks like a mis-shaped shell thats it, looks good.

Have you gave it a soak?

 

[GBtortoises]

The shape of your tortoise's carapace absolutely shows classic signs of metabolic bone disease. Witout going into the complete details, which is pages long, here are few causes of MBD:

Incorrect calcium to phosphorus ratio
Inability to properly absorb and utilize calcium intake
Keeping a tortoise in temperatures consistenly too low (which inhibits proper digestion and absorbtion)
Lack of proper exposure to correct levels of UVB to facilitate calcium and vitamin D absorbtion)

MBD cannot be reversed or corrected. But it can be minimized and stopped by reversing the above causes. But abrupt overload of calcium and vitamin D is not a good practice either. As with many aspects of tortoise development, the change will not happen overnight and it will take a long time to notice results. Exposure to correct levels of UVB can be started immediately. A calcium rich diet, with correct calcium to phosphorous levels can be started immediately too, but that calcium and any vitamin A should not be excessive. Keep in mind that the tortoise's system was not efficiently processing the calcium intake before due any number of the above listed reasons. It will take some time for it's system to become efficient in absorbtion of the nutrients. The transition needs to be gradual. The tortoise should also be well hydrated at all times, this too will enable better digestion and absorbtion.

 

[agiletorts]

Thanks everyone for your comments. Maybe from that picture's angle it wasn't too obvious that the front part of the shell is more raised than the back, but that's basically the problem that I meant to indicate. Other than that, he's pretty much normal from my observation; walks, eats, etc. normally with no pyramiding. He's been kept indoor all the time so probably lack of natural sunshine/UVB was the root cause. The previous owner also kept a water dish in his enclosure at all time so dehydration probably wasn't the issue. But now I keep him outside so he could get as much of California sunshine here, and hoping that he will grow normally with my other greeks. I will keep you guys posted in the future to see what he looks like in several years.