Please Help! Infection worsening with treatment on hatchling cherry head.

[Cherry-head]

Hello,

My cherry head red foot tortoise nibbler is about 5 months old. She has continuously had what I think is likely a fungal infection for 2 months. It was just a couple of areas in the center of her plastron, but this week it has worsened greatly. First I started using a clotrimazole cream, then I started using potidone-iodine (betadine) as well in case it is bacterial. I have been using Q-tips with a bit of pressure to try and scrub it while applying the medication, but I have considered maybe using a soft toothbrush to clean the area more thoroughly. I soak her every 2 or 3 days and I had been applying the medicine after her soak. The last few days I have been doing it more often. Her enclosure has a damp soil and sand mixture at the base that she isn't in contact with and a top covering of mainly eucalyptus mulch with some patches of sphagnum moss, including the area inside her hides. I was worried the enclosure was too wet as some water was pooling up in the bottom due to an increase in local rainfall so I drilled extra drainage holes around a week ago and it is staying pretty dry now. I had hoped the soil underneath would create a nice humid microclimate, but it might be too much. I live in Miami, FL on the bay and she stays outside, so the ambient air is quite humid. I have a ceramic heat emitter that I put on when the temperature outside drops below 85 or so, but it hasn't gotten cooler than the mid 70s here since I got her. I ordered a thermostat in the mail, but it hasn't come yet. Any advice about the shut off temp for this climate would be nice.

Her entire plastron has recently become covered with faint ring patterns of infection. The streaks of indented, infected tissue surrouding the center line of her plastron have been present for weeks and seem to get better and worse with time. I am now very worried about the trailing edge of her plastron (bottom right when looking at the picture) that suddenly appears bleached. In addition to these obvious issues, she also has some growth issues across her entire shell. I attached a picture where you can see a clear indentation in the first line of large scutes on her carapace. If anyone knows what that even if it is separate from the other issues, please let me know.

Her main staples are dandelions, endive, hibiscus leaves, and sometimes spring mix. Every few days she gets a different type of fruit or veggie, so far she has had mango, pineapple, apple, prickly pear, grapes, carrots, and zuchinni. I have fed her the Mazuri pellets a few times. She gets herpvite and calcium supplement powders about every three days. I usually put it on whenever I give the wet food it will stick to. I haven't tried giving her any worms or bugs yet, although she does have springtails in her enclosure that crawl on her and her food that I imagine she ingests sometimes.

So, please tell me what you suggest I do to help her heal! I just read today the advice about letting her dry with the medicine for a while before putting her back in her enclosure. I think I will try that next along with the increased treatment frequency. Are there other, more reptile specific medicines out there that may be more effective? Tell me if you think I might be doing anything wrong.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

The area of the plastron is where the yolk sack was attached and it will look a little strange until it heals. Is that your area of concern? She looks pretty normal. unless I missed something. I also have a baby R/F and yours is more healed than mine. Mine is about 4 months old. Do you mean the scrape by her tail? I'd use some athletes foot cream on it and not the betadine so much, if at all. I don't live far away from you and our temps are perfect. Even 77-80 degrees is O.K.at night. I don't use a heat source. Only during the coldest winter days. I use damp orchid bark substrate with dry potting soil on top in my indoor pen and cypress mulch with top soil outside for my adult.

 

[Cherry-head]

This is a picture from the first day I saw an infection a little over 2 months ago. It is not her egg tube healing as you can see the problematic tissue has expanded significantly. Her egg tube was directly along the center line near the spots of infection and fell of only about two weeks before this photo was taken, so I did wonder if it was the entry point for the infection as the problem areas are just off of the center line in the same area. I do not believe the marks at the end of her plastron are a scrape. She doesn't have anything in her enclosure that could do that and it shares the beige color and wrinkled texture of other areas where the infection has been growing.

 

[tortadise]

Betadine or chlorohexadine scrub will only initially "sanitize" the area it's utilized on. Once you scrub with either for the first time dry off the plastron and apply clotrimazole ointment(can be purchased at drug stores) It's an anti-fungal cream. This will kill and mitigate the fungal infection. But it will constantly return unless the enclosure is remedied.

 

[Cherry-head]

I have been applying clotrimazole for the entire treatment period. I only recently added betadine to the routine as she was not responding to clotrimazole alone. Any advice on application methods, for example how long I should keep her out of her enclosure after application or how to scrub the surface as my Q-tip method may not be appropriate? As for her enclosure, as I said I did just increase drainage as the soil in the base of her enclosure had become waterlogged, although it was too deep for her to be in contact with. Should I change the substrate? What do you think is wrong with the enclosure I described? It is usually crisp and dry feeling to the touch at the surface unless it rained within the last few minutes and damp if you dig your fingers down to the lower margin of mulch and then into the soil layer beneath which she is not in direct contact with. However, her hide and on side of her enclosure are relatively well protected from the rain even on the surface layer. I was considering removing the moss. I could try adding more drainage holes too. Or taking out the soil layer beneath her mulch. Or maybe adding coconut chips to the surface as I am able to get them in small quantities nearby. I also was wondering whether or not I should change her soaking frequency and/or length. It is currently every two to three days for about 5 minutes in a plastic bin with water about halfway up her body. I have only ever seen her briefly enter her water bowl in her enclosure twice the entire time I have had her (over 3 months).

 

[AmRoKo]

Get rid of the eucalyptus mulch it's poisonous.

 

[teresaf]

It looks like you cleared up the initial spot next to the eggyolk placenta(whatever). The spot lower is new. Why not do what you did for the previous spot for now. someone should be along to help you pevent further spots. Perhaps by reviewing the care sheets you can verify you're following them closely. Most babies need soaked daily in warm water for 15-25 min.

I just looked again. It looks like a big circle on her belly you don't have a heat rock or pad that may be burning her? I know they aren't round but the internal coils could be. Peculiar. I would bring her inside and set up a tank until its gone. Outside it could be anything...