Split developing between scutes

[aromaff16]

Hi guys.. I havent been on in Quite some time. Spike is now 3 1/2 years old and is weighing in at 15 pounds. I've noticed not too long ago that he is developing splits between a couple of his scutes. He eats 2-3 heads of romaine lettuce /day and spends time outside when we are able to watch him. He has a 4' Natural dayligh flourescent bulb (reptiglo 5.0) and a 80 watt heat lamp in his pen. He also has access to a large dish of water in his pen, but doesnt seem to enjoy it much. Also does 15 pounds seem right for a 3 year old sulcata?? Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

What you are seeing is the new growth having been injured in some way...too close to the light...too much UV...burned... We have no way of knowing exactly what caused it, but it is injured soft tissue.

 

[aromaff16]

Is there anything I ned to do to help it heal or is it just scar tissue at this point?

 

[mike taylor]

How close is the light to the tort ? when you measure your temperatures are they from the floor or the top of tortoise?
If its for basking you need to measure temperatures from the top of shell . So you don't burn them. If he is burnt time will heal him but if it was my tort I would have him checked by a vet a.s.a.p. just to make sure he's all good. Hope you can help him get better good luck hope I helped a little.
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[wellington]

You also need to give him a much better diet. Romaine is not a good diet. Check out the tortoisetable.org for edible plant and weed ideas. Also most greens from the supermarket can be fed, spring mix, endive, mustard and collard greens, optunia cactus, mulberry leaf and flower, hibiscus flower and leaf, clover, dandelion, the list goes on. Add as many to his diet as possible, along with an escape proof and predator proof outdoor enclosure for more outside grazing. With lots more time outside, you don't need the fake uv

 

[aromaff16]

His basking lamp is a 100 watt zilla black heat bulb. I moved it after I read the first post but I would guess it was about 4 inches from the top of his shell. It is now about 8 inches from his shell I just taped an aquarium thermometer to the top of his shell to see what the temp is. He has gone through a tremendous growth spurt the last couple months so I would imagine that the light has "grown closer" to his shell as he's grown. That being said, what is a good range for the temp to be in under tha basking light? I will check out the links about food and try to varry his diet. He does eat grass and dandilions when hes outside But other than the romain thats it.

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Hi guys.. I havent been on in Quite some time. Spike is now 3 1/2 years old and is weighing in at 15 pounds. I've noticed not too long ago that he is developing splits between a couple of his scutes. He eats 2-3 heads of romaine lettuce /day and spends time outside when we are able to watch him. He has a 4' Natural dayligh flourescent bulb (reptiglo 5.0) and a 80 watt heat lamp in his pen. He also has access to a large dish of water in his pen, but doesnt seem to enjoy it much. Also does 15 pounds seem right for a 3 year old sulcata?? Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

There's no way of knowing if the injury is permanent. Sometimes it heals and starts to grow again, but sometimes it will fuse together and no new growth appears in that space. If you know a good tortoise vet they may be able to give you some pointers on what to do to help it heal and start to grow again.

 

[wellington]

You really do need to get him outside more and a larger inside enclosure. The water dish also needs to be buried to ground level, he can't possibly be able to get into it on his own.

 

[aromaff16]

You really do need to get him outside more and a larger inside enclosure. The water dish also needs to be buried to ground level, he can't possibly be able to get into it on his own.

Larger inside?? Im hoping youre saying that because the picture makes it look smaller than it is. It is 4 feet by 8 feet. The hide at the far end takes up 2 feet of it making the hide 2x4 feet and the open part 6x4 feet. As far as the water dish... lol we just change his bedding 2 days ago and the stupid pet store only had 2 bags of bedding. normally the bedding in the bottom is high enough that its only about an inch from the top of the water dish so he can get in and out of it easily. More will be added as soon as the petstore gets it.

 

[mike taylor]

Get you a temperature gun like this them stick on thermostats aren't to accurate. You got to look at what a sulcata is it's the cow of the tortoise world. A sulcata as big as that is able to stay out side with a heated hide. A good big grass and weed filled yard with a strong fence.

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[aromaff16]

Get you a temperature gun like this them stick on thermostats aren't to accurate. You got to look at what a sulcata is it's the cow of the tortoise world. A sulcata as big as that is able to stay out side with a heated hide. A good big grass and weed filled yard with a strong fence.



I tapwed a glass one on him, not one of those sticky ones. lol Hes been under his light for a while now and its reading 94 degrees. My wife thinks his light is much higher now though than it was before I moved it. Is 94 a good temp under his backing light? Where can I get one of those temp guns at?

 

[mike taylor]

I got this one from Grainger . You can get them off eBay to. You should pm Tom he's the go to for sulcata Care .

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[Tom]

I see growth anomalies like that from time to time. It's usually due to dryness and electric heat.

It's likely that your bulb was too close to him, but the problem is made worse since its a black light and your tortoise might not perceive it as a heat source as well. For day time you should have a basking lamp on a timer that simulates daylight. If your tortoise gets sunshine on a regular basis then a regular incandescent flood bulb will work just fine. Over winter a mercury vapor bulb will work well. For night heat, your black light will work if you set the height correctly, but I prefer to use ceramic heating elements on a thermostat to keep it dark for them. The temp directly under the bulb, at tortoise height, should be around 100. I use a rock or brick the size of the tortoise to check this. I set it under the bulb for a couple hours and then set a probe on top of it or use a temp gun. I adjust the height of the light fixture to get the temp I want.

The sides of that water bowl are too tall and steep. It poses a serious risk of flipping for your tortoise. I'd switch it out for something more suitable.

And your enclosure IS too small for a tortoise that size to live in all day. If he only slept in there at night and was out all day every day, including winter (which isn't possible where you are), it would be fine, but sulcatas need a lot of room to roam. Mine outgrow their 4x8' indoor enclosures by the time they are about a year and a half or two years tops. After that I moved them to large outdoor enclosures with heated night boxes.