cause of shell rot

[pdrobber]

I've been spending some time at my parent's place on LI while they're at their place in Florida for the week. I went to my apartment to check on/feed the tortoises and noticed my red foot's substrate was bone dry.

It is usually damp and warm, probably more moisture than recommended but it's constantly being flushed by new water, mixed, evaporating and kept warm. She didn't have any shell rot before I left a few days ago (they've been fed and watered, apparently not enough, daily by my neighbor). I picked her up from the dry substrate and noticed she had a bit of shell rot going on.

I'll be treating it using the diluted betadine and fungal cream method.

I was just wondering if you think it was caused from the substrate being too damp and maybe her plastron being wet I couldn't really see it (does that sound plausible or is it usually still visible) or if it is from the substrate being unmixed, stagnant and dried out to the point of too dry for the past few days. I used a toothbrush and solution gently and most of the white and spottiness went away.

 

[Madkins007]

My guys get what I consider 'contact rot' from being on an overly wet substrate, and it seems to happen most with the more acidic substrates like sphagnum moss.

 

[terryo]

The same thing happened to Pio when he was younger. I kept the substrate wet and used to pour water in there and mix it up. Now I just water the plants, that are buried in their pots, and when I mist I only mist the tops of the plants and the tort when they come out to eat. I try to keep the top layer of substrate dry.