Is this normal for a Desert Tortoise?

Juniper619

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Las Vegas, NV
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Hi Everyone,
I just started noticing dark circles forming in each scute. Will you please look at the pics and let me know if I did something wrong? I adopted him about a year ago. I was going through some older pics and I can see the dark pattern starting to form. The top pic was taken today and the bottom pic was taken the day I found him in my backyard.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.View attachment 324811View attachment 324812
 

TheTattooedTortoise

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To be fair he looks happy, healthy and smooth to me... you'll probably just find that his natural colouring is becoming richer.
Certainly doesn't look like anything to worry about to me (shell rot, fungus etc)
 

Juniper619

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Las Vegas, NV
To be fair he looks happy, healthy and smooth to me... you'll probably just find that his natural colouring is becoming richer.
Certainly doesn't look like anything to worry about to me (shell rot, fungus etc)
Thank you so much! I was worried that I didn’t give him enough food rich in vitamins.
 

Tom

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View attachment 324813View attachment 324814
Hi Everyone,
I just started noticing dark circles forming in each scute. Will you please look at the pics and let me know if I did something wrong? I adopted him about a year ago. I was going through some older pics and I can see the dark pattern starting to form. The top pic was taken today and the bottom pic was taken the day I found him in my backyard.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.View attachment 324811View attachment 324812
I don't know what care you are offering, but he looks pretty good. Hydration is super important. Daily soak will help until he gets a little bigger.

In both pics I see lettuce. That's not good. Avoid grocery store foods in favor of leaves, weeds, flowers and spineless opuntia pads. Add in some Mazuri, mix in some soaked ZooMed pellets and you should have a good diet. Look for mulberry trees in your area, grape vines, rose of sharon, lavatera, etc...

If you must use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole. Add in cilantro, arugula, collard, mustard and turnip greens, and more. Mix in some soaked horse hay pellets, herbal hay from tortoisesupply.com and oe of several types of dried leaves from kapidolofarms.com.

Here is the current and correct care info for this species:
 

Juniper619

New Member
Joined
Jul 9, 2020
Messages
25
Location (City and/or State)
Las Vegas, NV
I don't know what care you are offering, but he looks pretty good. Hydration is super important. Daily soak will help until he gets a little bigger.

In both pics I see lettuce. That's not good. Avoid grocery store foods in favor of leaves, weeds, flowers and spineless opuntia pads. Add in some Mazuri, mix in some soaked ZooMed pellets and you should have a good diet. Look for mulberry trees in your area, grape vines, rose of sharon, lavatera, etc...

If you must use grocery store greens, favor endive and escarole. Add in cilantro, arugula, collard, mustard and turnip greens, and more. Mix in some soaked horse hay pellets, herbal hay from tortoisesupply.com and oe of several types of dried leaves from kapidolofarms.com.

Here is the current and correct care info for this species:
Thank you for the advice. I switch up between pellets, green/red leaf lettuce, dandelion leaves and flowers, cucumbers, endives and spinach. I started growing a little patch of grass ... once it grows a few inches I’ll transfer it into his enclosure.
 

Juniper619

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Las Vegas, NV

zovick

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View attachment 324813View attachment 324814
Hi Everyone,
I just started noticing dark circles forming in each scute. Will you please look at the pics and let me know if I did something wrong? I adopted him about a year ago. I was going through some older pics and I can see the dark pattern starting to form. The top pic was taken today and the bottom pic was taken the day I found him in my backyard.
Any advice will be greatly appreciated. Thank you all.View attachment 324811View attachment 324812
The darker areas around the outside of the scutes are the new growth lines. You can see the same darker coloration of new growth on the scutes of sulcata tortoises as they grow also.
 

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