Dryness on head

[Diane Berner]

I have a female adult redfoot that I've raised from a hatching. She is 6 years old, 13 inches long and weighs 12 pounds. Recently we've been noticing that the top of her head is looking dry. She is soaked 3x per week, is misted daily and has a humidifier we run in her room to keep the humidity up. Her substrate is kept moist. Is it safe to put some coconut oil on her head? I know people use it on their shells.

 

[JoesMum]

Perfectly normal skin shedding. No potions or treatment needed. It will rub off as your tort goes about its business.

Snakes do it tidily all in one go. Humans do it in tiny bits that become house dust. Torts do it patches and look very scruffy at times.

 

[Diane Berner]

Thanks for your reply. We were worried. We've been through many trials and tribulations raising this this tortoise. The forum has been a life saver.

 

[Tom]

I've got that going on several of my tortoises too. Its more prevalent this time of year with the increase in electrical heat generation due to the colder weather. Electric heat really dries everything out. I don't treat it or do anything special. I keep a close eye on humidity and hydration is all.

Something else that helps is if you rinse the tortoise after soaks with non-mineralized water. Distilled, collected rainwater, or reverse osmosis water. Only use this for rinsing. Not for drinking or soaking.

 

[Diane Berner]

Thanks! We'll try rinsing her off after soaks.