irEric posted pics of his greek tortoise recently and was asking about the little squiggly lines that we sometimes see in young, growing torts. As I answered him I had one of those lightbulb moments. The only time I see these squiggly lines in my baby sulcatas is when they have been out in their sunning enclosure in the hot, dry air for an hour or two. I don't see them when they are in their humid enclosure in the humid reptile room with their humid hide box and their regularly sprayed wet shells. The best analogy that I can think of is: When you submerge a clear, plain glass under water it more or less disappears. But when you lift the glass out of the water it is plainly visible. These little squiggly tubes seem to disappear when the shell is wet and well hydrated.
Is it possible that little torts have tiny "water channels" running though their little pliable young scutes? If you stacked lots of these channels on top of each other, layer upon layer, after months or years of growth, you would end up with that spongey-looking honeycomb structure that we've seen in cross sections of pyramided tortoise shells. Maybe these "channels" act as a water reservoir to hydrate the scutes from the inside.
I'm betting that this also has to do with pyramiding. So frustrating. So many unanswered questions and no real way to get answers.
Is it possible that little torts have tiny "water channels" running though their little pliable young scutes? If you stacked lots of these channels on top of each other, layer upon layer, after months or years of growth, you would end up with that spongey-looking honeycomb structure that we've seen in cross sections of pyramided tortoise shells. Maybe these "channels" act as a water reservoir to hydrate the scutes from the inside.
I'm betting that this also has to do with pyramiding. So frustrating. So many unanswered questions and no real way to get answers.