Counting Rings on a Shell

Cantata the tortoise takes a shower in the rain, her shell and rings are more visible while wet.

If you’ve read my book, Don’t Call Me Turtle, or are familiar with how tortoises grow, you know they deposit more keratin between the scutes (the segments of the upper shell, or carapace). Keratin is the same protein that makes up your skin, hair, and nails. This deposition of keratin creates a pattern on the […]