Shell concerns

[Voldemort5]

I have a red-footed tortoise. I have had him for over a year, I am not sure how old he is exactly but he is still young and small. I have noticed that when I check the underside of his shell he has some chips missing in a few different places. They are not soft, or black, or seem to have anything wrong with them other than the fact that there are pieces missing. Also, the line down the center of his underside seems to be raised in comparison to the rest of his undershell, almost like a ridge. I have looked all over the internet but have not found any useful information. I do not know if the chips are something to be concerned about?! Also, I do not know if the way his shell is forming is normal or a sign of an issue. His eating habits are normal, has proper heating, humidity, and UVB, and plenty of fresh water and calcium supplements. Please let me know if you have any information about these shell concerns!! Thank you so much!

 

[Yvonne G]

Hello, Voldemort5:

Welcome to the Tortoise Forum!!

What would you like us to call you?

May we know appx. where in the world you are?

Can you show us some pictures of the underside of the tortoise? It may be shell rot.

 

[wellington]

WELCOME

 

[pdrobber]

welcome...should we call you "You Know Who" or "He Who Must Not Be Named"??

 

[Voldemort5]

My name is Christine, my torts name is Voldemort (or he who must not be named). I have decided based on research that it is in fact an early stage of shell rot. I bought betadine today and applied it with a q-tip, let it dry, then applied a triple anitbiotic ointment. I hope this will clear it up! Any other suggestions?!

 

[Yvonne G]

Don't use the betadine again. And antibiotic ointment has no magical powers against fungus. You'll need to get an athlete foot cream and apply that.

 

[Voldemort5]

I didn't buy athletes foot because I was told that it would only clear up a fungus infection and it could be bacterial, in which case the athletes foot cream wouldn't be effective. I was directed to use athletes foot only if the issue didn't begin to clear up after a week of the betadine/triple antibiotic ointment treatment. The directions I was given said to use the betadine for 2-3 days only because it would stop/kill the infection but not allow new tissue growth. The TAO is supposed to help in the healing process and to create a barrier between the wounded area and the bedding and stuff in his tank. I will try to get a picture of his shell posted soon. Is there a reason you think I should not use the betadine? Do you think I should wait the week before trying athletes foot cream??

 

[Mgridgaway]

Like you already said, Betadine kills bacteria, but it also prohibits new shell growth. That's why it's best to use it sparingly.

If possible, can you post a photo of the area in question? It may help determine whether what we're looking at is actually shell rot or something else.

For the record, I just bought a tube of athletes foot cream at Walmart. Equate brand, 2 bucks. Can't go wrong with that.