hello

the mazuri tortoise diet is awesome

i feed it to all my tortoises

it has vit. d3 in it already

i have been using this product for 5 years and have had great results

raised scutes seem to be in my experience due to lack of humidity or not efficient heat

babies live in burrows or holes for up to 2 years as babies

borrows contain higher humidity levels and usually maintain a steady temp range

richard fife's book on leopard tortoises covers this topic in detail

i have raised babies exactly the same and have had one have raised scutes and one had a smooth shell

only difference was where they hung out in the pen

the smooth one was always under the opuntia cactus in the root system where it was moist usually from watering

the other who had the raised scutes was always out and moving

never hung out in the higher humidity areas of the pen always in the hay piles or corners of the pen

all dry areas

i have heard people in florida also have the raised scute problems too

so that kinda messes the idea up

i would like to see how they are cared for though

if they are indoors in an ac room on rabbit pellets they are basically taking all the humidity out of the tortoises habitat and hence the problems is related to humidity

but if they are raised outdoors and this still happens in florida and other high humidity situations

maybe it is really a diet and heat or humidity issue

it could be several factors making this happen and i have long since quit acting like i know for sure what causes this

nobody knows for sure 100% yet

more real research is needed to be conclusive

mildly raised scutes seem to not effect them at all

it might effect breeding in extreme cases or not make it not possible

i let my tortoises graze as part of their diet and it seems to work well

i add greens and hay mixed with mazuri ,carrots,bell peppers,and squash in the mix among others

opuntia pads , hibiscus,and fruitless mulberry leaves are cherrished also.

i stand behind mazuri as a good product and know of alot of other breeders who share this opinion

hope this helps.

HAPPY HERPING

JEFF

PLANET REPTILES

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