Shell scraping- how much is too much?

[TechnoCheese]

Curtis moved outside full time about a month ago, and he’s been doing pretty well. However, while I was cleaning his shell to apply coconut oil, I noticed that under the dust from his shell being scraped, it appears that he scraped a scute down to show another “layer”(?). He doesn’t act any different when I touch or rub it, and it’s completely smooth.

The enclosure walls are mostly cinder blocks, so I did expect some rubbing. However, is this spot concerning, and if so, should I cover it with something?

 

[Yvonne G]

I would protect the cinderblock with a piece of plywood or rubber mat or something. That's exposed bone and blood. Eventually that spot of bone will die (no big deal) and the blood will dry up, leaving a little white spot in its place. But rather than worry about more extensive damage, you need to cover the cinderblock where he's rubbing his shell.

Have I said this before - that looks like a feminine face. I wonder if you have a girl there.

 

[TechnoCheese]

I would protect the cinderblock with a piece of plywood or rubber mat or something. That's exposed bone and blood. Eventually that spot of bone will die (no big deal) and the blood will dry up, leaving a little white spot in its place. But rather than worry about more extensive damage, you need to cover the cinderblock where he's rubbing his shell.

Have I said this before - that looks like a feminine face. I wonder if you have a girl there.

Thanks, I’ll be sure to do that. I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he’s actually a she, but until he’s 15-16 inches, I’ll just stick with “he” for now
Haven’t been flashed either, so figured it might be foreshadowing a pronoun change lol

 

[Tom]

I agree with Yvonne. Line the area of the wall that gets rubbed with some plywood. If you cut a 4x8' sheet of plywood into 12 inch by 8 foot sections, you can cover 32 near feet of your walls. 11/32" plywood is about $13 a sheet at Home Depot. Home Depot will cut the plywood for you upon request.

 

[Yvonne G]

You can use silicone sealer to glue it to the cinderblocks.

 

[TechnoCheese]

You can use silicone sealer to glue it to the cinderblocks.

Luckily, I recently bought some. Hope it hasn’t dried out, lol

 

[Blackdog1714]

If it did dry out you can always use the outdoor liquid nails. Just make sure that you press it once then pull it back then repress it down. It maximizes the grip on both surfaces

 

[Tom]

I make "clips" from 2x4s. I'll get a pic, but essentially the clip just holds the plywood in place and is easy to remove.

 

[vladimir]

How's Curtis's shell doing these days?

 

[TechnoCheese]

How's Curtis's shell doing these days?

He scraping got just slightly worse, but now it’s doing fine now that I’ve covered most of the blocks

 

[Yvonne G]

You've done a nice job there, Macy!

 

[TechnoCheese]

You've done a nice job there, Macy!

Thanks!

 

[Tom]

I make "clips" from 2x4s. I'll get a pic, but essentially the clip just holds the plywood in place and is easy to remove.

My "clips" to hold the plywood up against the blocks.