Is her shell okay?

[EuphoricSponge]

Hello. My russian tortoise, Amaranth, was purchased from petco a little more than two weeks ago. She's been doing great, roaming around happily with a huge appetite that was hard to satisfy. I spray her food (Usually spring mix, collard greens, and the occasional baby carrot) with zilla brand vitamin spray. I also provided her with a cuttle bone that she ignored. Petco sold me a small tank for desert geckos saying it would work fine, it came with two 50 watt bulbs. One black light and one day light. I set up her things and the temps were all wrong. Her basking spot was only around 70 and the tank was horrifically dry. Also I wasnt using a UVB light until just yesterday. Despite all of this, for the first week and a half she was as spunky as could be. Then she had a slight loss of appetite and started hiding in her half log more than usual. I began to freak out and feverishly spent hours each night reading as much as I could on Russian Tortoises. So, I went to the store a few days ago and picked up a 50 galleon storage container, another half log, two bags of topsoil, one bag of playsand, two 100 watt lights (one infrared and one day light), a UVB light, a spray bottle, and a stand for these new lights. Her basking area is now in the high 90's, peaking in the very center to 100, and her cool side is in the high 60's to low seventies. In an attempt to add some humidity I spray her playland with water a few times a day. After about two days she has regained her appetite and her spunk. She basks in the high heat and does not seem to be bothered by it. At night it gets to the mid sixties in there. I feed her once a day for as much as she can eat in twenty minutes, and when I get home from work at around 12 I will give her a few leaves of spring mix if she looks ravenous. A few days ago, before I bought all of these things, I noticed a small spot on her shell that looked like it was chipping off. I read up on that and the results worried me. It's not bad, but I dont remember if it was like that when I got her. Around another one of the panels on her shell it looks like the edges are beginning to do the same, I dont know if I am exaggerating or not, but it really has me worried. Here is a picture.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi EuphoricSponge and welcome to the Forum!

I don't see anything in the red circle, however I see a pretty deep pit at about 1 o'clock from the circle.

Wild caught Russian tortoises are kept in pretty rough conditions after they've been caught, and during shipping. They usually arrive here pretty banged up. It's usually old damage and there's nothing to be done about it.

Just keep an eye on it, I doubt it will get worse.

Also, you can spritz the substrate to keep dust down, however a russian tortoise as old as yours doesn't need a humid environment.

 

[EuphoricSponge]

How old do you think she is? Her head gets pretty dry though, is that okay?

 

[Yvonne G]

She's maybe 8 or 10 years old.

 

[Moozillion]

Welcome to the forum! I'm really impressed with all the research, work and expense you've used to do the right thing by your tort! She's very lucky to have found you!

 

[EuphoricSponge]

Thank you very much She was so excited to see me when I got home!