Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I call it "broken Glass" cb 2012 VM

Well, everyone is correct,as no one knows what causes this. All the siblings had normal Carapace scutes. I will say that in 20+ years of hatching these,this is the first one I've ever seen where the centrals are missing altogether and the costals exstending over the top of the shell. I was hoping it would at least get people on here talking but I guess the tortoise forum is a thing of the past. Se ya no where no one. Civ

I thought it was a cool pic. I always like the "odd fellow" you occasionally see. My thought was to the inside skeletal pieces that join the shell. I wonder if they are in the same spot?

Thanks! I knew someone loved a freek! I looked that up in Pritchards book Ency.of Turtles. "Each Carapace Scute can cover several Carapace bones", consequently "much sliding about of scutes over bones occures as a turtle grows" PP p.30. If you have this book this page is pretty neat. See what you can learn from a freeky turtle pic.....IF you get on the turtle/tortoise forum! See ya in Daytona the 2013 eggs have started arriving this week. Of cource I wount count them until they hatch! Vic

I'd be willing to bet the skeletal structure is perfectly normal.

I would think that pattern of the scutes is temperature caused.

>>I thought it was a cool pic. I always like the "odd fellow" you occasionally see. My thought was to the inside skeletal pieces that join the shell. I wonder if they are in the same spot?
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Ed @ Tortoise Keepers
Trying to keep the fun in Chelonian care

Yes that is correct as pointed out in the Pritchard refference. One thing I have woundered about is if temp is the case why did just one become irregular and not all the eggs that hatched when in the same invironment. Just the small miniture living primitive beast that transforms from a egg full of Chemicals with a cognative genetic desire to survive in just 64 days is the stuff that keeps it interesting ! Vic