Hello All!

[boil3rr]

Hey guys, I'm a new owner (today) of a baby cherry head red foot tortoise. This this is awesome. So i built the enclosure by myself from plywood its about 2x3 ft. I got a 125 watt mercury vapor lamp and an additional UVB lamp on the other side of enclosure. I used cypress as the bedding since it apparently holds moisture best. Humidity in my house is around 65 I spray the enclosure multiple times a day to get it up to around 80. He has a shallow water dish he can bathe in as well as a food bowl.

My questions and concerns. He came in the mail today from repmart. He/she is about 7 months old from what they told me. I'm a little concerned because the bottom of his shell seems to be molded? And he's not staying in the open end of the enclosure he keeps hiding in the cool end. Also he hasn't eaten or drank anything yet. Any suggestions concerns? Thank YOU for all your input.

 

[boil3rr]

Hey Guys, just an update. Wanted to give you guys an idea of what the enclosure looks like. Please feel free to give me any tips advice on what I can do to make it better. Also the last picture has that rotting/molding? Unless I'm just paranoid.

 

[Yvonne G]

Welcome, boil3rr:

Looks like you might have a little bit of shell rot going on there. For the time being, it would be good to keep him on dry substrate, even cloth or newspaper. This is short term, as they need to be in a humid environment. Once you get the shell rot cleared up you can go back to substrate.

Clean the plaston well with a soft bristle brush, using something like Chlorhexidine or Betadyne. Dry it well, then dab on some human athlete's foot cream. It doesn't take long to clear it up. Don't use the Betadyne more than the first time, as it inhibits the growth of the new white blood cells.

There's lots of good reading about redfooted tortoises at the Tortoise Library .

 

[ALDABRAMAN]

Welcome!

 

[wellington]

Hello and Welcome

 

[boil3rr]

Welcome, boil3rr:

Looks like you might have a little bit of shell rot going on there. For the time being, it would be good to keep him on dry substrate, even cloth or newspaper. This is short term, as they need to be in a humid environment. Once you get the shell rot cleared up you can go back to substrate.

Clean the plaston well with a soft bristle brush, using something like Chlorhexidine or Betadyne. Dry it well, then dab on some human athlete's foot cream. It doesn't take long to clear it up. Don't use the Betadyne more than the first time, as it inhibits the growth of the new white blood cells.

There's lots of good reading about redfooted tortoises at the Tortoise Library .

Thanks for the advice. Do you think I could use anti-bacterial soap and lamasil? Or does that sound dumb?

 

[pam]

Welcome

 

[waterboy]

Welcome. If your tort is not moving around much make sure you are taking he/she outside and letting it walk around in the sunshine as often as possible and also soaking it to make sure it doesn't get dehydrated.I had a rescue a few weeks ago that didn't move around at all but a few days in the sun and some hydration and she kept me up all nite banging around. Keep up the good work and your tort will be fine

 

[Eweezyfosheezy]

Welcome to the forum!