Russian tortoise shell spot?

[Miranda Rose]

Hello,

I have had this tortoise (my first) for 9 months. I believe it is a female russian tortoise, but not 100% sure on that. She is a full-sized adult, about 8 inches long.

I have been trying to care for her on a limited budget (lots of DIY work). So far, she really has seemed healthy and happy.

I posted pictures of both her enclosures (indoor and out). Due to the weather where I live (NW united states), she has not been outside much this winter, so that picture is her outside pen when I haven't cleaned it up yet for the spring.

Inside, she is in three large, connected, rubbermaid bins. I made tunnels between them and zip-tied the containers together. She loves having "rooms". The right size bin on the picture has a hiding shelter, the middle her large water bowl, and the left her basking spot and uv lamp. I also put her food in there normally. The substrate is coconut coir, with about 20% playsand mixed in on the right bin where she digs in.

Outside, she has a side patio, about 10 foot square. I used cinderblocks and chicken wire to block anywhere she could escape, including a few inches down in the dirt. About 70% is the cement/rocks, and 30% is the shady area under the bushes. I also plant some trays with weeds she can eat and rotate those in (not pictured) and of course give her a water dish. She has several hiding spots.

For food, she gets about 75% weeds from the yard (we haven't used lawn chemicals ever) 25% supplement with "spring mix" lettuces from the store (the kind without spinach in it). I use a spray-on calcium supplement 2-3 days a week. She gets as much as she will eat in 20-30 minutes daily (although in her outside pen she grazes extra on the weed trays I plant).

My question is about her shell. I just noticed today she has developed an area on her plastron that is white and looks like a layer flaked off. It is not moist, it does not smell bad. It happened sometime in the last two weeks or so (she hates being inverted, so I don't do it daily).

Any thoughts on the cause? Is this shell rot? Could it be abrasion from her being on the cement patio in the summer (even though she hasn't been out there in a couple months?). I know cement is not ideal, but I thought is was okay because she really spent 90% of her time in the dirt area and I didn't see any signs of damage this summer/fall.

TIA
Miranda

 

[Miranda Rose]

The spot is a little smaller than a dime in size, in the fourth picture.

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

welcome to the forum! the enclosure needs a couple more bins added to it and the substrate needs to be around 5-7 inches deep so she can cover her self. when adding more substate don't add amy more sand, if she eats to must sand she could get impaction in her intestines. also the substrate needs to be moist. provide her with a cuttlebone so she can decide when she needs more calcium in her body. when feeding her let her get as much food as she wants don't limit her to 20 minutes. i think the spot on her may be caused by the cement in her outside enclosure.

 

[Yellow Turtle01]

I agree.
Here's a lovely carehseet-
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/russian-tortoise-care-sheet.80698/
-She's a big girl, so more space would be quite nice
Diet ideas-
http://russiantortoise.net/edible_plants.htm
-does she have access to your whole yard? Grass and all?
Hard rock rubbing on the shell frequently will cause it to wear down and become damaged.

 

[Miranda Rose]

I can't "tortoise proof" my whole yard, so she only gets to roam free is someone is outside with her (which is often in the warm months). She can get under my wood fence and frequently tries to do that, lol. So I was hoping to make the side patio area the place she can be outside, that is escape-proof. I know the cement is not ideal. I think maybe I can put some substrate over it in most of the area. That might stop the shell scratching.

The bins, I have been looking for a cheap way to make it a little bigger, but honestly, she rarely even uses what room she has. She likes her warm bin in the day, and just wanders in the others occasionally. I will think on that.

What humidity level should I be aiming for in the warm/cooler areas of her inside habitat? The temp. is around 90 in her basking spot, and it is room temperature on the other end (65-70 degrees).

 

[russian/sulcata/tortoise]

I can't "tortoise proof" my whole yard, so she only gets to roam free is someone is outside with her (which is often in the warm months). She can get under my wood fence and frequently tries to do that, lol. So I was hoping to make the side patio area the place she can be outside, that is escape-proof. I know the cement is not ideal. I think maybe I can put some substrate over it in most of the area. That might stop the shell scratching.

The bins, I have been looking for a cheap way to make it a little bigger, but honestly, she rarely even uses what room she has. She likes her warm bin in the day, and just wanders in the others occasionally. I will think on that.

What humidity level should I be aiming for in the warm/cooler areas of her inside habitat? The temp. is around 90 in her basking spot, and it is room temperature on the other end (65-70 degrees).

russians do fine in 50%+ humidity.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Miranda:

It's hard for me to tell from the picture, but it could be either one - the start of shell rot or abrasion from the cement. The treatment for shell rot is not harmful when used on perfectly healthy shell, so I would go ahead and treat with athlete foot's cream to be safe.

 

[TortsNTurtles]

You could purchase landscaping timber or cinder blocks and make it high enough to allow for dirt and the wall high enough for no escape. At least with the cement under the dirt you don't have to worry about her digging out