Terrible Shell Rot in Aldabra

Taco*mom

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Hi guys,

I wonder if you guys can help me out determining this male aldabra's shell rot condition. I’m thinking about buying this male aldabra as he is up for sale. Apparently he's been left neglected for quite some time and I’m worried that the shell is permanently damaged and will hinder him from breeding activities. What do you guys think?

Also, is shell rot contagious?

Thank you so much.

629E3709-B1A0-4DF5-889B-C70538A1A502.jpeg A3DB3D4C-4EF5-4F08-86FC-322833058262.jpeg 2BD1D65A-3075-4241-A0BD-97AD3F63C370.jpeg D8DB0E69-A95F-48AF-802F-891FF380CF8E.jpeg

@ALDABRAMAN @Tom @Yvonne G @deadheadvet
 

CarolM

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Hi guys,

I wonder if you guys can help me out determining this male aldabra's shell rot condition. I’m thinking about buying this male aldabra as he is up for sale. Apparently he's been left neglected for quite some time and I’m worried that the shell is permanently damaged and will hinder him from breeding activities. What do you guys think?

Also, is shell rot contagious?

Thank you so much.

@ALDABRAMAN @Tom @Yvonne G @deadheadvet
Oh Shame poor thing. I know @ZEROPILOT has experience with shell rot. I know you can use athletes foot fungal cream to help clear it up. But how bad this one 's shell rot is and how long it will take to heal..... unfortunately you will need to wait for the names you mentioned to respond.
 

wellington

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The white looks more too me like scraps not rot, but would be hard too scrape in most those areas, except the plastron, that is most likely scraps. The part that has the holes look more like rot too me, but could be where someone drilled a hole to tether him. People used too do that. None of It should effect any breeding.
You could try an anti fungal cream but it kinda looks like just old scares that are dry.
As long as you have the room and means too care for him I don't think it would be a bad thing to rescue him.
 

Yvonne G

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I thought the white in the carapace looks like paint, while the plastron does show signs of shell rot. Pretty easy to clear up using anti fungal cream.
 

CarolM

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~ Unless you have 100% documented confirmation by a vet, that aldabra may not even be a male. That tale is no way near indicating a definitive male at that size.

View attachment 237798
Wow. That is a really deep curve. Very different to my mine. But then again Bowsprits are tiny compared to Aldabra's.. [emoji23][emoji23]
 

Taco*mom

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@Yvonne G
I have difficulties signing in to this forum from a phone that I used when I travelled to Hong Kong and China. It keeps saying that my ip address has been banned. Can you please help me? Thanks yvonne
 

Olddog

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Hi guys,

I wonder if you guys can help me out determining this male aldabra's shell rot condition. I’m thinking about buying this male aldabra as he is up for sale. Apparently he's been left neglected for quite some time and I’m worried that the shell is permanently damaged and will hinder him from breeding activities. What do you guys think?

Also, is shell rot contagious?

Thank you so much.

View attachment 237743 View attachment 237744 View attachment 237745 View attachment 237746

@ALDABRAMAN @Tom @Yvonne G @deadheadvet

Hi guys,

I wonder if you guys can help me out determining this male aldabra's shell rot condition. I’m thinking about buying this male aldabra as he is up for sale. Apparently he's been left neglected for quite some time and I’m worried that the shell is permanently damaged and will hinder him from breeding activities. What do you guys think?

Also, is shell rot contagious?

Thank you so much.

View attachment 237743 View attachment 237744 View attachment 237745 View attachment 237746

@ALDABRAMAN @Tom @Yvonne G @deadheadvet



I am not a veterinarian and in no way wish to imply medical advice. With that disclaimer, perhaps I can share some insight.

i believe the whitish areas in your photos represent a carapace kerititis. This appears to be an opportunistic fungus which can be very common in large tortoises kept in zoological and private collections along the Gulf Coast. This may be associated with prolonged periods in humid conditions. This is usually prominent below the "high water mark" in animals that like to soak in ponds or mud wallows. These ares may be "caked" in mud durning wet season.

Lesions tend to be most severe along the scute sutures and when the white is scraped away, there is normal keratin although it may not be smooth.

A paper published (2013) on the fungal scraping samples taken from Humpie, an imported Galapagos tortoise in Texas, were identified and named as Aphanoascella galapagosensis based on sequence data. The daughter of the one of the animal stewards did a project treating one side of the animal's carapace with Vick's Vaporub (now banned in US?) and the other side with petroleum jelly leaving a small area as control. i believe there were a total of two treatment applications. There was improvement/resolution in the treated areas.

One the years we have utilized a number of products for treating carapace fungal dermatitis including equine hoof products. In the dry season the fungal keratitis can be readily cleared up with a variety of products. Durning the wet season when animals spend hours daily in ponds or mud wallows, the fungus may return.

On April 13th, we started a little experiment on three adult males, treating the animal's left carapace with virgin cold press coconut oil and the right with petroleum jelly. Prior to treatment the carapaces were washed with a 1:10 dilution of betadine (povidone-iodine, 10%). Cold pressed coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids that are effective against Candida include capric acid and caprylic acid, as noted in several publications. I do not know if there is any anti fungal effects of coconut oil against the carapace kerititis of tortoises or simply the oil effect. Coconut oil melts at approximately 76 degrees F whereas petroleum jelly is nearer 100 degrees F. Both appear effective so far but the wet season will be a better test. Due to potential resistance issues, and being a proponent of the KISS philosophy, more potent anti fungal agents have been avoided as it does not appear they are needed.

Hope this helps.
 

ZEROPILOT

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You'll find that a lot of scuffs and scrapes can look like fungus. (Actual shell rot is another, more serious thing) My limited range of knowledge has been exclusively with Redfooted tortoises.
The good thing about that athletes foot cream is that it can be had for one dollar and it simply does no harm if you smeared some on and it wasn't needed.
 

ALDABRAMAN

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i believe the whitish areas in your photos represent a carapace kerititis. This appears to be an opportunistic fungus which can be very common in large tortoises kept in zoological and private collections along the Gulf Coast.

~ We see this also and simply use a solution (vet recommended) to clean them periodically.

1688458_212590712435723_500265333613522094_n.jpg
 

Taco*mom

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I am not a veterinarian and in no way wish to imply medical advice. With that disclaimer, perhaps I can share some insight.

i believe the whitish areas in your photos represent a carapace kerititis. This appears to be an opportunistic fungus which can be very common in large tortoises kept in zoological and private collections along the Gulf Coast. This may be associated with prolonged periods in humid conditions. This is usually prominent below the "high water mark" in animals that like to soak in ponds or mud wallows. These ares may be "caked" in mud durning wet season.

Lesions tend to be most severe along the scute sutures and when the white is scraped away, there is normal keratin although it may not be smooth.

A paper published (2013) on the fungal scraping samples taken from Humpie, an imported Galapagos tortoise in Texas, were identified and named as Aphanoascella galapagosensis based on sequence data. The daughter of the one of the animal stewards did a project treating one side of the animal's carapace with Vick's Vaporub (now banned in US?) and the other side with petroleum jelly leaving a small area as control. i believe there were a total of two treatment applications. There was improvement/resolution in the treated areas.

One the years we have utilized a number of products for treating carapace fungal dermatitis including equine hoof products. In the dry season the fungal keratitis can be readily cleared up with a variety of products. Durning the wet season when animals spend hours daily in ponds or mud wallows, the fungus may return.

On April 13th, we started a little experiment on three adult males, treating the animal's left carapace with virgin cold press coconut oil and the right with petroleum jelly. Prior to treatment the carapaces were washed with a 1:10 dilution of betadine (povidone-iodine, 10%). Cold pressed coconut oil contains medium chain fatty acids that are effective against Candida include capric acid and caprylic acid, as noted in several publications. I do not know if there is any anti fungal effects of coconut oil against the carapace kerititis of tortoises or simply the oil effect. Coconut oil melts at approximately 76 degrees F whereas petroleum jelly is nearer 100 degrees F. Both appear effective so far but the wet season will be a better test. Due to potential resistance issues, and being a proponent of the KISS philosophy, more potent anti fungal agents have been avoided as it does not appear they are needed.

Hope this helps.
Wonderful post! Thank you for your time. Will surely try putting on some cold pressed coconut oil or maybe petroleum jelly. How many times a day? And how long did you apply those until you see any improvement?

Thanks again
 

Taco*mom

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You'll find that a lot of scuffs and scrapes can look like fungus. (Actual shell rot is another, more serious thing) My limited range of knowledge has been exclusively with Redfooted tortoises.
The good thing about that athletes foot cream is that it can be had for one dollar and it simply does no harm if you smeared some on and it wasn't needed.

Unfortunately the athletes foot ointment that greg @ALDABRAMAN recommended (in his prior post) cost almost $5 here. I hope the coconut oil works so I don’t have to spend a fortune on a dozen tubes of this ointment for an aldabra this size.. thanks @ZEROPILOT
 

Olddog

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Wonderful post! Thank you for your time. Will surely try putting on some cold pressed coconut oil or maybe petroleum jelly. How many times a day? And how long did you apply those until you see any improvement?

Thanks again


These are the two products beng compared in the current backyard trial. The coconut oil was purchased from Amazon and the Petroleum jelly from Walmart ($1.97).
We know there is a higher inidence of Candida vaginial infections in women who use petroleum jelly as a lubricant as compared to those who use other products. We know cold pressed coconut oil is superior to mineral oil as far as antifungal properties with various dermatitis. That said, this is not Candida and the superior antifungal properties of coconut oil may be overshadowed by the binding and lasting effects of the petroleum jelly.

IMG_1038.jpg
IMG_1033.jpg

Would anticipate a treatment interval of about every two weeks (or longer if using petroleum jelly). I appliy with a three inch paint brush and try to apply an initial thin coating to a dry clean shell. If weather is hot, would likely use the petroleum jelly but likely either will likely work. I do not know which will do better in wet season. A jar of petroleum jelly will treat several tortoises. Do NOT try to liquify petroleum jelly in the microwave. It will brush out just fine out of the jar.

Any number of antifungal agents could be used but the vapor barrier is likely all that is required for this fungus.

Do not mean to hijack your thread.
 
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