Plastron has a convex line-bump

leeshis0019

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I'm at a loss for words on how to describe it briefly, but essentially there is a convex line down the middle of my tortoises Plastron (bottom shell). Honestly, I've left him (I think him...though not sure) in his enclosure for about a week without interacting too much and when I did interact I wasn't really looking at or feeling the plastron, but when I picked him/her up today I noticed this.

I suppose one way to describe it is like a rib protrusion when someone is starving, but it's on the bottom shell and they don't have ribs...

He/She gets food almost every day that is a mixture of grasses, hays, collard greens and turnip greens. Calcium is still a problem because he wont eat the cuttle bone and all I can do is sprinkle it onto the food, but it's a dry powder. Anyone have any suggestions on making the cuttle bone more palatable or pleasing?

He/She is about 3-4 months old so still small. No shell protrusions on the carapace--just the one on the plastron. Seems happy and healthy and moving around pretty much like always.


Anyone have an idea on what it might be?

And again...any suggestions on getting him to eat the cuttle bone. Honestly, I don't understand when people say their tortoise takes chunks of their's and eats it right up...he doesn't even seem to understand that he can eat it.
 

Yvonne G

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Without seeing a picture of the area you're talking about, it's just a guess, and my best guess is it's just new growth.

Quite a few tortoises won't eat cuttlebone. You just leave it in the habitat and maybe, MAYBE, some day he'll take a bite out of it. I sprinkle just a pinch of calcium powder over the food a couple times a week.

Incidentally, tortoises DO have ribs, but they're fused to the underside of the carapace, not the plastron.
 

edwardbo

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I think I know what you mean ,they get kind of hollow .....I bet if you lay your hand on the substrate it's dry.....these things are babies,treat them as such .very much love .....
 

wellington

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Be sure to read Toms threads below in my post for raising that any smooth and healthy.
 

bouaboua

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My Sulcata that nibble on the cuttle bone once a while, I mix power calcium once a week too. I have four other Leopard will not even acknowledge the bone but I found out some marking on it. Just leave the bone in the enclosure.

A picture of that convex line will help lots experts (I'm not one of them) in this forum to figure out what is it very quick.
 

Tom

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A pic of the tortoise's plastron and the enclosure will help us to unravel your mystery.
 
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