Groove in sulcata shell

[Roni]

Hello! First of all thank you so much for all of the info on this forum. I found Kylie about a month ago crawling across the street in front of my house. I live in a residential area but we do have some desert patches in the neighborhood. I checked with AZ game and fish and they said she is a sulcata.

Today when I took her outside, I noticed a "groove" or almost like a fingernail mark in her shell. There are 3 of them but they're in the light colored part of her shell, not the dark outlines like others had asked about. Any ideas what they are? I am posting some pictures. The deepest one is on her left shoulder and she has 2 smaller ones on her right side. I tried to point out 1 on the right with a pen. She also has a raised line going down the middle of her shell that's new but I assumed that is from growing.

The first 10 days that we had her, I made just about every mistake possible in caring for her. Since finding this forum, she is eating the correct diet, has a humid hide, has the proper temps in her enclosures, and gets outside a lot since we live in Tucson and weather allows it. The only thing we struggle with is the humidity. Her substrate is dirt / soil that I keep wet. Humidity is usually 50-70% during the day and we get to 80% at night most nights.

Thank you!

 

[Tom]

Hello! First of all thank you so much for all of the info on this forum. I found Kylie about a month ago crawling across the street in front of my house. I live in a residential area but we do have some desert patches in the neighborhood. I checked with AZ game and fish and they said she is a sulcata.

Today when I took her outside, I noticed a "groove" or almost like a fingernail mark in her shell. There are 3 of them but they're in the light colored part of her shell, not the dark outlines like others had asked about. Any ideas what they are? I am posting some pictures. The deepest one is on her left shoulder and she has 2 smaller ones on her right side. I tried to point out 1 on the right with a pen. She also has a raised line going down the middle of her shell that's new but I assumed that is from growing.

The first 10 days that we had her, I made just about every mistake possible in caring for her. Since finding this forum, she is eating the correct diet, has a humid hide, has the proper temps in her enclosures, and gets outside a lot since we live in Tucson and weather allows it. The only thing we struggle with is the humidity. Her substrate is dirt / soil that I keep wet. Humidity is usually 50-70% during the day and we get to 80% at night most nights.

Thank you!

Conditions are too dry. It causes the sort of things you are seeing. There is no way to maintain the correct temps and humidity in an open topped enclosure. You need a closed chamber. Humid hides are good, but the whole enclosure needs to be humid too.

Soil should never be used as a tortoise substrate because you can't know what its made of. Outside dirt is okay for outside pens, but fine grade orchid bark is best indoors.

How much time does the baby spend outside? I recommend no more than an hour a day for hatchlings like this. Too much outside time is bad for them even in humid climates, but especially in dry climates like yours and mine. Contrary to popular misconception, sulcatas are not a desert species. They hatch during the hot wet rainy humid monsoon season in Africa where temps are hotter than a Florida summer and much more humid too. These monsoon conditions are what they thrive in. If your baby is spending hours a day outside, that could be a big contributor to your problem there.

Check this out;

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

 

[Tortoise Buddy3826]

If it's not a crack or something like that then I would wait and see what happens it might just be a "birthmark" or birth defect but if it's a crack I'd talk to a vet because it could get infected and that's by all the organs

 

[Roni]

Conditions are too dry. It causes the sort of things you are seeing. There is no way to maintain the correct temps and humidity in an open topped enclosure. You need a closed chamber. Humid hides are good, but the whole enclosure needs to be humid too.

Soil should never be used as a tortoise substrate because you can't know what its made of. Outside dirt is okay for outside pens, but fine grade orchid bark is best indoors.

How much time does the baby spend outside? I recommend no more than an hour a day for hatchlings like this. Too much outside time is bad for them even in humid climates, but especially in dry climates like yours and mine. Contrary to popular misconception, sulcatas are not a desert species. They hatch during the hot wet rainy humid monsoon season in Africa where temps are hotter than a Florida summer and much more humid too. These monsoon conditions are what they thrive in. If your baby is spending hours a day outside, that could be a big contributor to your problem there.

Check this out;

The Best Way To Raise A Sulcata, Leopard, Or Star Tortoise

I chose the title of this care sheet very carefully. Are there other ways to raise babies? Yes. Yes there are, but those ways are not as good. What follows is the BEST way, according to 30 years of research and experimentation with hundreds of babies of many species. Babies hatch during the...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.

When we first got her, the weather was warmer so she was outside for several hours. I had frozen a Tupperware container of water and put it upside down on the screen of her enclosure outside so there would be water melting down into her enclosure. I also added water to enclosure in the morning. I did read on another site that they only need to be outside 1 hour per 1" in length. She's 2" so should she be outside 2 hours (weather allowing?)

And I'm sorry, soil as in dirt. I actually have the desert dirt in her indoor enclosure but the top is open. It's an under the bed storage box about 18" by 3 ft. But it's only about 5" tall. When I add water to it, it does get swampy looking. I have the lid and can work on modifying that to be more enclosed to increase humidity. I will also look for orchard bark.

Her outside enclosure is also dirt but has some soil where I added petunia plants and a grass mix. Next spring, we will build her a better enclosure outside. Right now she's out in a bigger bedding storage box.

All the threads on humidity have been very helpful, it's just hard to maintain especially when our outdoor humidity is about 10%. Since we weren't planning on getting a new pet, we were really had to play catch up on info / supplies.

Thanks!

 

[Roni]

Ok I was able to read through the other post about caring for hatchlings. I'm definitely still behind on the enclosure styles. Tom I can see your babies are much more hydrated. I'm off work this week and will work to improve and make it enclosed. Thanks again for all the help! I'll post before and after pictures.

 

[Beasty_Artemis]

Looks like a mark from being inside the egg.... Mabey it was a hatchling from someone's outdoor enclosure that gets surprise egg clutches periodically???

 

[KarenSoCal]

I'm off work this week and will work to improve and make it enclosed. Thanks again for all the help! I'll post before and after pictures.

With your bin only being 5" tall, you're going to have difficulties enclosing it.

Check out this post. It may help you decide how to do it.

Hi! New here

Hey! I am looking for the "frequently asked questions" and do not see it. Can someone guide me? Thanks

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Roni]

Thank you everyone for all the help! I moved Kylie's outdoor enclosure indoors because it's about 14" tall. It does have dirt from the yard, not soil, in it. Working on getting a better substrate. Once that was wet and with the lid on, the humidity is much better. I can feel the difference when I put my hand in. I also bought a personal ultrasonic humidifier but only have to turn it on a few times a day. Here's a picture. It's not pretty but it works. The tape is covering holes that I drilled when I first got her and had no idea what I was doing.

The shorter enclosure is outside and I've been putting her out for 1-2 hours since the weather is still nice. I've been adding a lot of water to the dirt before I put her in to try to help with the humidity.

I like the tent idea and maybe have to do something similar next year when she moves out doors for longer. I'm planning on building a much larger enclosure but hoping to tent off an area where I can keep it humid.

Thanks again!

 

[Yossarian]

Thank you everyone for all the help! I moved Kylie's outdoor enclosure indoors because it's about 14" tall. It does have dirt from the yard, not soil, in it. Working on getting a better substrate. Once that was wet and with the lid on, the humidity is much better. I can feel the difference when I put my hand in. I also bought a personal ultrasonic humidifier but only have to turn it on a few times a day. Here's a picture. It's not pretty but it works. The tape is covering holes that I drilled when I first got her and had no idea what I was doing.

The shorter enclosure is outside and I've been putting her out for 1-2 hours since the weather is still nice. I've been adding a lot of water to the dirt before I put her in to try to help with the humidity.

I like the tent idea and maybe have to do something similar next year when she moves out doors for longer. I'm planning on building a much larger enclosure but hoping to tent off an area where I can keep it humid.

Thanks again!

Coco Coir fibre is a good substrate, try to find the fine grade stuff, packed in bricks. you can also use Orchid bark to create a surface that isnt so messy. Both hold a lot of moisture which is important, they also dont contain any abrasives, which is important, and they wont have any things in them that will cause digestive blockages, which is also important. Both of these products are widely available and not that expensive for the amount you will need.