Odd discoloration on scute?

NeekoBe

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Hello,

I've had a female russian tortoise for the past 5 ish years and during her weekly washing i've noticed some discoloration on one of her scutes. This is deff some 'new' discoloration that she didn't have before.

I've recently 'upgraded' her enclosure to something with a little more space and she hasn't been feeling super ever since I rehomed her (she usually eats monstrous amounts, now very little and keeps digging deep down the substrate to hide).

Here are some pics :

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I am hoping you experts could shed some light on what this might be and how i can prevent it/heal it & also get her to the activity levels she was before :)

Thanks!
 

Tom

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Double check the basking temperature by placing a thermometer directly under the bulbs and letting it cook for a couple of hours. Also check the UV output of all bulbs. If that is all okay, I wouldn't worry about the discoloration.

What are the four temps? Basking area, overnight low, warm side, cool side?

What bulbs are in all those fixtures? What types of bulbs?

Tortoises don't like change. Moving to a new enclosure and not being able to find your way "home" sets some of them back for weeks or months. I prefer to do a gradual desensitization starting with small amounts of time in the new enclosure and increasing time over days or weeks. This seems to reduce the shock of being dropped in a totally new and unfamiliar territory.
 

NeekoBe

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Double check the basking temperature by placing a thermometer directly under the bulbs and letting it cook for a couple of hours. Also check the UV output of all bulbs. If that is all okay, I wouldn't worry about the discoloration.

What are the four temps? Basking area, overnight low, warm side, cool side?

What bulbs are in all those fixtures? What types of bulbs?

Tortoises don't like change. Moving to a new enclosure and not being able to find your way "home" sets some of them back for weeks or months. I prefer to do a gradual desensitization starting with small amounts of time in the new enclosure and increasing time over days or weeks. This seems to reduce the shock of being dropped in a totally new and unfamiliar territory.

Directly under the lamp is +- 38°C(100F) but it quickly dissipates in a wide area of around 34°C(93F)

The 'cool' side' is around 22°C(71F) ( room temp)

The bulb in those fixtures are http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/solar_glo.php 160W and a 50W extra heat lamp that I only turn on on cold days.
 

Yvonne G

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She's undergone a very big growth spurt - quite a wide new growth ring. this might have something todo with the area you're concerned about.

Young tortoises go through a growing period where little white, squiggly lines show up in the kertin. The "design" you're concerned about reminds me of that. Don't worry about it. In my opinion it's quite ok.
 

Sarah2020

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Hi I agree a big growth spurt and pigment will colour in over time. Read the caresheet, heat, light, substrate, hydration, humidity and diet are all very important. Add a dusting of calcium to wet fresh leaves to help shell strength.
 

NeekoBe

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This would make sense because she also has a ton of skin hanging off near the neck area (shedding) .

I'll keep an eye on it and update if needed, thanks :)
 

Sarah2020

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Reptiles skin will flake off. Leave it alone and avoid helping it on it way as you can do damage. Regular warm water soaks help skin flake removal, hydration and shell maintenance. Try weighing weekly as that is a great way to check growth spurts or reduction which alerts you to diet etc...
 

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