Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does anyone know what causes a hatchling to be born with an extra scute on its carapace? Is it because the hatchling was born from parents that are RELATED to each other and having the same bloodline like siblings breeding with each other?

I'm about to buy the last 3 remaining hatchlings in stock from a dealer. One of them has an extra scute. Should I buy it or not? I'm concern it may produce offsprings with the same problem when I breed it in the future.

The dealer told me they are all UNRELATED to each other. How do I know he's telling me the truth and not just want to quickly sell them out? How can I find out for sure that they are truly unrelated to each other?

Hi,

I bet that a genetic precursors, such as inbreeding, could lead to extra scutes. But I think there are other factors that weigh in as well. It's my understanding that even babies who are incubated at temps that might be a bit too high can form extra scutes -- in such a case, I don't think that it would be passed on to offspring.

I'm sure that someone with more knowledge of this will jump in.

Best,

Becca

I think most shell deformities that we commonly see like extra scutes are thought to be the result of a dangerously high incubation tmperature not a genetic flaw. Lots of the folks on turtle farms who produce thousands of turtles per year produce a few of these (and the so called "pastels" too) along side other apparently normal hatchlings.
Here in Az i have seen several "deformed" turtles found in yards having emerged from nests that the keepers of the adults never discovered. The thinking is that the hot ground (out of ther temp range of the natural locations of the species kept) caused high mortality among hatchlings and some degree of deformity among those that survived.

But i am far from sure that temperature is thr whole story.