Red foot shell question!

[Spencertretter]

Hey guys questions about the bottom of my tortoises shell. I have a closed chamber 80-90% humidity all the time. 90 degrees basking spot.. Upper 70s on the cool side. Feed him everyday, usually greens with a side of tomato, Apple, mango etc. humid hide with sphagnum inside. Also a 10.0 UVb light. Attaching poop (very green) idk if poop pic with help at all lol... and bottom of shell pic! Is this normal?

 

[Randi]

I would start by altering the diet - tomatoes and apples aren't very beneficial. You could fill that space in the stomach with healthier and more beneficial items. There definitely appears to be something wrong with the plastron - it looks like shell rot. It is caused by having the substrate too moist - they need the top layer of substrate to be dry. You will want to start treating the shell rot - you would do Betadine scrubs the first day or two (Betadine will inhibit new skin growth so it must only be used once or twice), followed by Chlorhexidine scrubs every day to every second day - after scrubbing the plastron, a cream like Clotrimazole 1% should be applied. It must dry completely. It is best to have the tort in a container while the cream is drying - once dry, the tort can be put back in the enclosure. Best of luck to you and yours.

 

[Anyfoot]

Hey guys questions about the bottom of my tortoises shell. I have a closed chamber 80-90% humidity all the time. 90 degrees basking spot.. Upper 70s on the cool side. Feed him everyday, usually greens with a side of tomato, Apple, mango etc. humid hide with sphagnum inside. Also a 10.0 UVb light. Attaching poop (very green) idk if poop pic with help at all lol... and bottom of shell pic! Is this normal? View attachment 150815View attachment 150817

Hi. That's not normal. I'm not experienced enough to comment on this. Looks like fungal infection to me. @yvonne. @domalle. Will know.

 

[Yvonne G]

Good info given above.

 

[SeanG]

Seems exactly what mine is! Can you tell me if yours is getting any better now and how you went about treating it. Seems like as I'm new I worried too much about humidity and hydration. Over sprayed his substrate and bathed him ever day

 

[Spencertretter]

Seems exactly what mine is! Can you tell me if yours is getting any better now and how you went about treating it. Seems like as I'm new I worried too much about humidity and hydration. Over sprayed his substrate and bathed him ever day

I'm starting the treatment today. These guys know what they are talking about at tortoise forum. They need humidity and to be hydrated. Bathing everyday might be too much I do 3 times a week for about 30 mins each time. My substrate is damp coco coir under cypress mulch. Make sure you always have a safe to get in and out water dish and misting is fine. Get a humidity gage so you know how much you need to spray

 

[SeanG]

I'm starting the treatment today. These guys know what they are talking about at tortoise forum. They need humidity and to be hydrated. Bathing everyday might be too much I do 3 times a week for about 30 mins each time. My substrate is damp coco coir under cypress mulch. Make sure you always have a safe to get in and out water dish and misting is fine. Get a humidity gage so you know how much you need to spray

Thanks for the info. I mist his hide and have sphagnum Moss as the substrate in and around that area. My humidity is always around 70% plus as Hong Kong is quite a humid place as it is. I also only bath him for 10 mins max at a time. Do you think all the spraying and bathing is unessasary at these humidity levels? Please keep me updated on how the treatment goes. Also going to get medication for mine tomorrow.

 

[Spencertretter]

Thanks for the info. I mist his hide and have sphagnum Moss as the substrate in and around that area. My humidity is always around 70% plus as Hong Kong is quite a humid place as it is. I also only bath him for 10 mins max at a time. Do you think all the spraying and bathing is unessasary at these humidity levels? Please keep me updated on how the treatment goes. Also going to get medication for mine tomorrow.

70% humidity is not enough in my opinion. Mine is a closed chamber which I don't have to do anything and it stays at 90% all the time. Get it up as much as you can. May be hard to find but look at Toms post if you can make one of these you'll be set. Can be as basic as a plastic tub with foil or something over it.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/#post-304363

 

[SeanG]

70% humidity is not enough in my opinion. Mine is a closed chamber which I don't have to do anything and it stays at 90% all the time. Get it up as much as you can. May be hard to find but look at Toms post if you can make one of these you'll be set. Can be as basic as a plastic tub with foil or something over it.

http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/closed-chambers.32333/#post-304363

Thanks for the help!

 

[Spencertretter]

I would start by altering the diet - tomatoes and apples aren't very beneficial. You could fill that space in the stomach with healthier and more beneficial items. There definitely appears to be something wrong with the plastron - it looks like shell rot. It is caused by having the substrate too moist - they need the top layer of substrate to be dry. You will want to start treating the shell rot - you would do Betadine scrubs the first day or two (Betadine will inhibit new skin growth so it must only be used once or twice), followed by Chlorhexidine scrubs every day to every second day - after scrubbing the plastron, a cream like Clotrimazole 1% should be applied. It must dry completely. It is best to have the tort in a container while the cream is drying - once dry, the tort can be put back in the enclosure. Best of luck to you and yours.

Started the treatment today. Can I make sure I got this right.. I did two coats of iodine yesterday. One in morning and another at night. This morning I put the clorhexidine with a tooth brush then put the clotrimazole 1% right after with my finger. Is this correct? Or should I be putting iodine,clorhexidine and clotrimazole on right after eachother?

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Once the area is cleaned, only apply the athletes foot cream. No more iodine. Do it once a day and try to tweak your enclosure. It is likely too wet and you may have to raise your humidity by changing to another substrate.
I use Orchid bark covered in a layer of compost and potting soil. I pour water into the corners and the bark absorbs the water creating high humidity but leaving a relatively dry surface for the tortoise to live on.
It might be difficult to get it dialed in, but once you do, it's easy to maintain.
Shell fungus is not uncommon in Redfoot that are kept too wet. The scars will eventually fade.
also, a tip: The athletes foot cream sold at the local "dollar store" has the exact same ingredient and at the same level as the much more expensive brands at the pharmacy.

 

[TerrapinStation]

Hope your tort gets better quick. I am amazed at the kindness, support, information and eagerness to help on this forum.

I was a member on a Kayaking forum and some of the senior members there were condescending, arrogant, high and mighty types that scared away new members. It is so great to see the attitudes here. THANKS to everyone and their pets that brought them here!