NotBunky
New Member
Introduction
My tortoise (cherry head) is showing raised lines in between her scutes. When I first got her about a year ago, she had early signs of pyramiding, which I have tried very hard to correct and continue with smooth, flat growth. However, with a recent growth spurt, the lines between her scutes have become raised. At first, I thought it was simply healing growth, but now I am beginning to worry about it.
Husbandry & Care
She currently has an indoor enclosure that I made out of wood with a plexiglass cover to hold in humidity. There is a UVA bulb, UVB light bar, and a CHE bulb. The UVA/UVB bulbs run on a timer to match the daylight cycle, while the CHE bulb stays on 24/7. I have both an automatic mister that runs a few times per day and a mister bottle that I use when necessary. There is also a fogger that runs over intervals via timer throughout the day and night. She eats daily, with a variety of foods to match her diet and Ca/P ratio (turnip greens, dandelion greens, romaine, plums, strawberries, cantaloupe, mango, dandelion flowers, Mazuri tropical tortoise pellets, etc.), mostly taken from redfootbreeder.com. There are cuddlefish bones in her enclosure for her to nibble on as well. In summary, humidity stays around 60%-90% and heat is a constant 75-85 degrees. Water is changed out daily with either spring water or distilled.
Additional Info
While I am planning to upgrade her enclosure size this coming week, it has been an adequate size until about now. I have taken her outside in my backyard for 30-60 minutes per day on almost every day with acceptable temperatures.
Pictures
"Before Picture (1)": This is a picture a couple of months into owning her, less than a year ago.
Current Picture (1): This is a picture taken today, with lighting to highlight what I am talking about.
Current Picture (2): This is also a picture taken today, with same lighting but different angle.
Current Picture (3): This is a picture taken less than a week ago, where the scute line doesn't look as pronounced.
All of the current pictures were taken while it was dry outside and we had been out there for 30+ minutes, hence why she looks more dry than the before picture.
Questions
Does anyone have experience with this? If so, what do I need to do to correct this? What could the cause be? Why does it seem to be more apparent today than 5 days ago?
My tortoise (cherry head) is showing raised lines in between her scutes. When I first got her about a year ago, she had early signs of pyramiding, which I have tried very hard to correct and continue with smooth, flat growth. However, with a recent growth spurt, the lines between her scutes have become raised. At first, I thought it was simply healing growth, but now I am beginning to worry about it.
Husbandry & Care
She currently has an indoor enclosure that I made out of wood with a plexiglass cover to hold in humidity. There is a UVA bulb, UVB light bar, and a CHE bulb. The UVA/UVB bulbs run on a timer to match the daylight cycle, while the CHE bulb stays on 24/7. I have both an automatic mister that runs a few times per day and a mister bottle that I use when necessary. There is also a fogger that runs over intervals via timer throughout the day and night. She eats daily, with a variety of foods to match her diet and Ca/P ratio (turnip greens, dandelion greens, romaine, plums, strawberries, cantaloupe, mango, dandelion flowers, Mazuri tropical tortoise pellets, etc.), mostly taken from redfootbreeder.com. There are cuddlefish bones in her enclosure for her to nibble on as well. In summary, humidity stays around 60%-90% and heat is a constant 75-85 degrees. Water is changed out daily with either spring water or distilled.
Additional Info
While I am planning to upgrade her enclosure size this coming week, it has been an adequate size until about now. I have taken her outside in my backyard for 30-60 minutes per day on almost every day with acceptable temperatures.
Pictures
"Before Picture (1)": This is a picture a couple of months into owning her, less than a year ago.
Current Picture (1): This is a picture taken today, with lighting to highlight what I am talking about.
Current Picture (2): This is also a picture taken today, with same lighting but different angle.
Current Picture (3): This is a picture taken less than a week ago, where the scute line doesn't look as pronounced.
All of the current pictures were taken while it was dry outside and we had been out there for 30+ minutes, hence why she looks more dry than the before picture.
Questions
Does anyone have experience with this? If so, what do I need to do to correct this? What could the cause be? Why does it seem to be more apparent today than 5 days ago?
