- This topic has 2 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 23 years, 7 months ago by
John P. Levell.
-
Posts
-
-
Julie
I just need a confrmation that scute abnormalities is not genetic and is temperature influenced. The two hatchlings from the second bacth are so tiny and one has major scute abnormalities. I am hoping they will turn out a little better as they grow. Julie Tougas
-
Scute anomalies are not typically genetic, I believe they are caused by temperature peaks during the latter half of incubation. Scott
-
It is widely believed that subdivided scutes and other scute pattern abnormalities are attributable to incubation conditions (specifically non-variable or constant incubation temperatures), although I am not aware of any specific studies and/or publications on the topic. Of possible interest, while rare I have observed extra scutes on occasion in wild Blanding’s Turtles here in Minnesota. Frequency is extremely low (somewhere in the neighborhood of 3 or 4 per 1000 animals) but this would seem to indicate that other factors may play a role in these types of shell abnormalities as well. Just some thoughts which may prove helpful – John John P. Levell NorthStar Herpetological Associates – Turtle and Tortoise Book Shop emys@…
-
- You must be logged in to reply to this topic.