Dry shell

[tiddles]

Hi
Weve had our russian tortoise for 6 weeks and recently his shell is looking a little dry. What can i do to help sort it or do i just up his soaks.
Ill try and get a pic and post it Thank you

 

[wellington]

A pic would help. Also, what is his humidity? They don't need a high humidity, but they do need around 50% if I'm not mistaken. Someone will correct me if I'm off.

 

[tiddles]

Hi i dont know what his humidity is i need to order a hygrometer. He has a bowl of water in his enclosure constantly though. The hot end is usually 34 and the cool end 22.
Here is a pic of his shell

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[tortoise_man1]

your torts shell looks fine.

 

[tiddles]

Thank you. Im new to tortoise raising and it seemed a little dry to me. He has had a vet check about a week after we got him and the vet said he was healthy. We love him already and want the best for him, its suprising how quick they get into your heart

 

[biochemnerd808]

I don't mean to freak you out, but I'm actually seeing some active fungal shell rot there. I've attached your image with the areas I'm concerned about circled in red, and an arrow pointing at the one I'm most worried about.

You can treat the shell rot (which likely was caused before you got your tortoise) by a) swabbing the whole shell 1x with diluted iodine solution and then b) smearing antifungal creme on there every day for 2 weeks. Just pick up human foot fungus cream from the drug store, active ingredient clotrimazole.

It will take a few years to heal, but it does eventually.

 

[mctlong]

The shell looks fine to me.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

The shell looks normal for a wild-caught tortoise. I see a few abrasion sites, but that's not unusual, and they can regenerate quite well in a healthy animal. Make sure your little guy is getting enough moisture, though. Does he have a place to dig? Russians are adapted to fairly low humidity, but they need moist (not damp) substrate that they can dig into, so they get a higher humidity under the substrate than above it. You can provide that with coco coir or soil. A bath once or even twice a week for a healthy tortoise is helpful, too. Their shells tend to get a bit lighter in color when they're more hydrated, and darker in color when they're less hydrated. New growth is also a bit lighter in color, but usually stays lighter indoors, and usually darkens outdoors ... just like a suntan.

 

[taytay3391]

That doesn't look like shell rot. More like wear and tear.

 

[tiddles]

Sorry ive just seen these messages ill take all your advice on board i want whats best for my little guy