Is this fungus or growth?

[Nic]

I have a young redfoot that is under a year old...is the attached picture new growth or fungus on the shell?

 

[Yvonne G]

All those little light brown spots look like they might be the start of some sort of fungus or shell rot.

We have some good info on how to treat it here:

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/health-and-medical-2/shell-rot/

 

[Kathy Coles]

It don't look like new growth. New growth is lines between the scutes.

 

[Nic]

Ok I've updated the substrate with dryer materials and also cleaned/swabbed the affected areas with anti fungal ointment...anything else I should do?

 

[Nic]

The tort did start hissing at me a bit when cleaning (gently)

 

[Gillian M]

A warm welcome to the forum!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Are there any marks on the bottom of his/her shell?
I've never seen marks like these, though they do look like a fungal thing.

 

[Nic]

Nope all good on the bottom just the top of the shell...Shelldon is very spoiled and this new development is no fun I'm sure!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Wiping the areas with an anti fungal cream wouldn't hurt...and may help.
It would have no harmful effects.
I've been touting the "dollar store" athletes foot cream. Same active ingredient...

 

[Turtlepete]

Honestly, the whole shell looks very dry and flaky. The terrarium really needs to be fully enclosed. Are the temps and humidity high enough? Swapping out your substrate won't do anything. The carapace isn't in contact with the substrate anyways. Keep the humidity high, clean the areas with some betadine and a tooth brush and apply a little bit of clotrimazole cream. No big deal. I've actually experimented using Extra-virgin cold-pressed coconut oil (there is a thread about this on here somewhere which inspired me to try it) with stuff like this. Might be worth a shot.