Is this shell rot??

Kawright96

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Hey all! I just notices Oscar's shell is looking rough. I have attached pictures, is this shell rot?? He has bas the spot in the middle of his shell since I've had him (almost 3 years) but it's never grown or looked worse. The spots on the left seem to have popped up over night!
 

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Kawright96

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I soak him weekly, he has the appropriate lights/temp/foods/humid hide spot. He has grown a lot in the last year, is he about to shed his scutes??
 

Yossarian

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No, not shell rot. Russians often have rough looking shells, this is indicative of being wild caught. The light yellow bands are new growth and the old damage is not unusual and is just cosmetic at this point.

Torts don’t get shell rot on their carapace btw.
 

Kawright96

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No, not shell rot. Russians often have rough looking shells, this is indicative of being wild caught. The light yellow bands are new growth and the old damage is not unusual and is just cosmetic at this point.
Thanks so much! I guess I never noticed that his shell looked so rough. He was pretty dry earlier, I guess that's why I just noticed it ? he just got a bath lol
 

ZenHerper

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Sometimes the people who catch tortoises use a big metal pincer/tongs thingy, and/or drag them out of rocky hideouts...the grabber tool and/or the pulling damage the top layers of the scutes.

You can also gets marks like these when a tortoise gets wedged somewhere and pulls itself free. Or when an animal has bitten into the shell.
 

Kawright96

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Joined
Mar 19, 2021
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Location (City and/or State)
Indianapolis
Sometimes the people who catch tortoises use a big metal pincer/tongs thingy, and/or drag them out of rocky hideouts...the grabber tool and/or the pulling damage the top layers of the scutes.

You can also gets marks like these when a tortoise gets wedged somewhere and pulls itself free. Or when an animal has bitten into the shell.
I had a bunch of slate rocks in his enclosure, and made a make shift hideout with a couple of them, I noticed that he got stuck sideways between the rock and the wall of his enclosure, so I took them out. That makes sense!
 
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