Young hermanns tortoise losing scales.

Frede811

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Hello guys

I have a couple of hermanns tortoises. But the younger of the two has started shedding his scales quite a lot. It started just over a week ago with him losing a couple of the scales on his head. It has progressed to him shedding some of the larger scales on his legs, my older tortoise didnt shed to this extend, and i am getting worried.

20210206_141750.jpg20210206_141703.jpg
 

Ink

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Are they in the same enclosure? What are the temperatures and lighting? If you attach pictures, I am sure an expert will be able to help.
 

method89

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The tort looks dehydrated. Are you soaking him? What is the humidity in the enclosure? If they are in the same enclosure, the bigger one is stressing the smaller one.
 

zovick

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Hello guys

I have a couple of hermanns tortoises. But the younger of the two has started shedding his scales quite a lot. It started just over a week ago with him losing a couple of the scales on his head. It has progressed to him shedding some of the larger scales on his legs, my older tortoise didnt shed to this extend, and i am getting worried.

View attachment 317427View attachment 317428
If the two tortoises are kept together, these scale losses could very well be bite injuries from the larger tortoise biting the smaller one.
 

Frede811

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They are in the same enclosure, but i am currently building a new one where they are seperated. The humidity ranges from 40-60% at day and rises to 80% at night. Temps are an ambient 22C with a basking spot of 35C. Current table are glass walls with blacked lining. The new one will be full wood 20210206_160627.jpg
 

method89

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Your humidity is definitely too low. 65-80%. And there are signs of pyramiding. I would remove them from the same enclosure as soon s possible and add moisture to the substrate
 

Yvonne G

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The tort looks dehydrated. Are you soaking him? What is the humidity in the enclosure? If they are in the same enclosure, the bigger one is stressing the smaller one.
Yes, dehydrated and VERY thin. That front leg looks to have no meat on it at all.

My first thought was that the bigger tortoise is biting the head of the smaller one, thus causing you to see scales being removed. Then I read Zovrick's reply. They need to be separated right away.
 

Frede811

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I'll seperare them asap, the new table will be done tomorrow so hopefully things will improve
 

Frede811

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Update couple days after rehousing my tortoises into seperate enclosures and adjusting the humidity.
My Little tortoise seems to be more energetic than before so I hope he will get better. Is there any chance he will regrow the scales on his legs?
 

TeamZissou

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They are in the same enclosure, but i am currently building a new one where they are seperated. The humidity ranges from 40-60% at day and rises to 80% at night. Temps are an ambient 22C with a basking spot of 35C. Current table are glass walls with blacked lining. The new one will be full wood View attachment 317441

Using the desk lamp with a high wattage basking bulb could be a fire hazard. I think those lamps are usually only rated to about 60W, but the wattage needed to raise the temperature for a basking spot are usually 65 or 100W, especially in this open topped enclosure. Running this lamp with a higher wattage than is recommended for 12-14 hours a day is risky.

In the US we typically recommend ceramic socket fixtures that are available from the hardware store and are sold as 'brooder' lamps for chickens. They have a wattage rating of something like 400-600 W and are good for prolonged use. You can probably find a similar lamp in Denmark. Be sure to hang it vertically using a stand rather than the clamp that it comes with.
 

zovick

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Update couple days after rehousing my tortoises into seperate enclosures and adjusting the humidity.
My Little tortoise seems to be more energetic than before so I hope he will get better. Is there any chance he will regrow the scales on his legs?
The scales should grow back over time, but they may not be as large as the original scales were. This will take a fair amount of time also, IE a number of months rather than a couple of weeks.
 

Frede811

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TeamZissou: I am an electrician so i had modified the desk lamp so it wouldn't be a fire hazard even with a 150 watt bulb ;)

Zovick: I am very relieved to hear that. Luckily both the tortoise and I should have quite a few years left to recover :)
 
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