Need help as soon as possible. (closed eye & shell rot)

[Ramus]

My redfoot has only had only one of his eyes open and the closed eye has been watering like crazy. I flipped him over and found what looks like shell rot. I know I had problems earlier with his health but it seems it is recurring.

 

[kimber_lee_314]

The pictures are kind of blurry - not sure about the shell rot. His humidity may be too low. Give him a nice warm soak and check the humidity levels. This should help his eyes. Has he had shell rot before? A clearer picture would help to determine if there is scaring or active shell rot on the plastron.

 

[Ramus]

The humidity levels have been around 70-90 percent, and he hasn't had shell rot in the past.

 

[Telid]

The humidity levels have been around 70-90 percent, and he hasn't had shell rot in the past.

Can you get us some clearer images? The ones you used are quite blurry. The plastron does look a little weird coloration wise, but it's very hard to tell what's going on without a clear picture.

 

[Ramus]

Some more images.

 

[tortadise]

That's definitely shell rot. Which is a fungus and or bacteria. She'll rot comes in many strains of microorganisms. Most of these organisms are excelled aged from the soil with too much water. Warm and cool temperatures incubate them, but when you add lots of water it accelerates them. I noticed a zoomed tortoise house in one of those photos. Is that what your keeping him in? If so I'd be willing to bet your struggling to keep the humidity up with that enclosure, by spraying it over and over again. When a tortoise gets wet and cool especially over night it can cause some serious issues, one being shell rot. So what's your temperatures ambient, day, night, and warm to cool spot? The temperature of the house and room he is kept in will help too. How often do you spray him?

Now to treat that. Don't keep the substrate super wet. You need to soak that little guy and scrub him with some chloroxedadine using a toothbrush. Don't get it in his eyes, but everywhere else is good, then rinse. Dry him off as best you can with paper towels, and place him back into the enclosure. I would suggest changing the mulch in the enclosure too. And keeping it dry. Remember she'll rot is a fungus so need to scrub out the enclosure really well.

 

[Blgreek08]

You can actually treat she'll rot as well with lotroman ae, don't think I spelled that right, it's foot cream for athletes foot, it works wonders and clears it up fast, I used it on my baby. I also put him in a dry tub by himself with just food then soaked him once a day for water. But make sure you get the cream off first cause you don't want him to ingest it. Shell rot fungus does not like dry, keep him as dry as possible and is safe he will get better in no time

 

[Kathy Coles]

I found that I just could not keep the humidity up by spraying the substrate. I now use a repti-fogger and no substrate spraying at all. The forrest floor is dry but the air is moist. I've been very happy with this arrangement. Growth since then has been good.

 

[Ramus]

Basking spot has been at a 85 degrees while the rest of the tank is around the upper 70's. Humidity is at 70-90% and yes it's hard to keep the humidity up so that's probally why he got shell rot.

 

[tortadise]

Are you spraying the enclosure down any times a day?

 

[Ramus]

I sprayed it twice a day which is probably the reason why. Ill look into buying that reptifogger once his shell rot is gone. Also does that bin need any kind of lighting, and how many times a day should I apply lotrimin?

 

[Ramus]

Also I cleaned out all the substrate and sprayed down zoo med wipe out.

 

[Ramus]

Do I need to clean the décor? If so how do I? How long should I keep my tort in the tub? While in the tub does it need substrate or lighting?

 

[Ramus]

Guys I need answers before I act with the situation.

 

[Ramus]

Picture of torts underside after applying lotrimin twice today.

 

[Ashes]

I wish I knew... Sorry I can't help...

 

[tortadise]

I'd scrub it with a toothbrush and chlorohexadine. A bottle at Walgreens is like 8 bucks and a cheap toothbrush. Do it daily. Make sure to dry off too. And don't keep the substrate wet. Really you need another enclosure that can humidity better. Spraying all the time and dousing it wet and getting cool at night is the inhibitor here.

 

[Ramus]

Went to Walgreens and they didn't have any chlorohexadine left so I bought betadine and applied it the way you told me to. I changed the substrate to my tank and have not done any kind of misting. How long should I applt it? Nothing besides substrate and thermometer are in his tank at the time and I have been feeding him and soaking him once a day.

 

[Ramus]

Also I am NOT handy at all with wood working so building them an enclosure would be impossible for me, also I hate the aquarium style tanks. Im not sure what to get but I can spend up to $500 for a new indoor cage.

 

[Redfoot NERD]

For several years now I've heard this same situation with redfoot tortoises. They need a high AMBIENT humidity %.. on a dry substrate -
the first time I heard that [ over 10 years ago ] I thought " Yeah and what drugs are you on???" Early on we had the same situation!

Kathy Coles has the answer!

And here's how you treat it - http://turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm

( how I've cared for mine since 1998 [ with evidence of results.. pictures don't lie ] is first.. so scroll down to bottom of page to see actual VIDEO of how to cure your "non-fatal" situation! )

AND... ESPECIALLY - not yelling.. trying to get point across - REDFOOT TORTOISES DON'T NEED A "WARM & COOL" SIDE..
MAINTAIN A CONSTANT LOW TO MID 80's AND YOU'LL SEE A HAPPY REDFOOT. Also explained in detail.. but you will have to read it all. In the time you've spent in this thread you could have read how to cure and maintain your redfoot!

The less you handle your redfoot the better.. he's stressed all of the time from your soaking every day, etc. Provide a water dish to drink from and he will figure it out from there. It's not your fault.. you have been doing what you have had available to learn from - unfortunately it sounds like it wasn't "detailed" enough for you.

Lettuce know how this works for you please.