Help ahhh. (umbilical scar)

[Rllyank]

I’m a new mommy to a baby red foot tort and I noticed today that she has skin like on the bottom of her shell and I honestly thought at first it was a piece of leaf stuck to her and when I tried to take it off I realized it was attached to her and I don’t know if she’s shedding or what it is??? Someone please help me thank you!!

 

[Yvonne G]

THat's the remnants of the egg yolk. It will dry up and fall off eventually.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Like Yvonne said that's from the yolk sac. This tortoise is very young.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yep
Don't try to remove it

 

[Tom]

Where did you get the tortoise?

 

[Rllyank]

THat's the remnants of the egg yolk. It will dry up and fall off eventually.

Thank you!! So she must be a new lil tort? I thought she would be maybe 8 months or so because my other baby is about 16 weeks and doesn’t have that

 

[Rllyank]

Where did you get the tortoise?

I rescued her yesterday!! They didn’t give me many details that’s why I was so confused on what it was

 

[Rllyank]

Yep
Don't try to remove it

Yes of course! As soon as I saw that it was attached to her ( I didn’t pull on it hard or nothing) I immediately stopped and decided to ask. Thank you!

 

[Rllyank]

Thank you!! So she must be a new lil tort? I thought she would be maybe 8 months or so because my other baby is about 16 weeks and doesn’t have that

Oh sorry I read this wrong!

Where did you get the tortoise?

I got her at a reptile store

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Thank you!! So she must be a new lil tort? I thought she would be maybe 8 months or so because my other baby is about 16 weeks and doesn’t have that

Less than 2 weeks, maybe even one.

 

[Rllyank]

Less than 2 weeks, maybe even one.

Wow! I didn’t know she would be that young.. my other red foot is about 16 weeks a bit smaller than her that’s why I thought maybe she would be older... any tips on what to do/ what not do with such a new baby tort? I know all the basics like the uvb light, basking light, their diets, and putting the calcium etc on their food, not touching them as much.. but any other tips? Now that I know she’s so tiny and a literal newborn I’m so scared! I don’t want anything bad happening to her

 

[Toddrickfl1]

Wow! I didn’t know she would be that young.. my other red foot is about 16 weeks a bit smaller than her that’s why I thought maybe she would be older... any tips on what to do/ what not do with such a new baby tort? I know all the basics like the uvb light, basking light, their diets, and putting the calcium etc on their food, not touching them as much.. but any other tips? Now that I know she’s so tiny and a literal newborn I’m so scared! I don’t want anything bad happening to her

Keep humidity at 80%+and temps in mid 8 80s and soak daily and you should be fine. This tortoise shouldn't of been sold yet. Pretty unethical selling a Tortoise that young unless the buyer requests it.

 

[Rllyank]

Keep humidity at 80%+and temps in mid 8 80s and soak daily and you should be fine. This tortoise shouldn't of been sold yet. Pretty unethical selling a Tortoise that young unless the buyer requests it.

I called the store and they said she is about 5-6 months and I mentioned the egg yolk remnants and they said that it should heal by itself. But like I said, I have another baby red foot who is about 18 weeks (I know I said 16 but I was wrong) and she’s completely healed and doesn’t have any of that. Very weird that this one who is supposedly older still has them..

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I called the store and they said she is about 5-6 months and I mentioned the egg yolk remnants and they said that it should heal by itself. But like I said, I have another baby red foot who is about 18 weeks (I know I said 16 but I was wrong) and she’s completely healed and doesn’t have any of that. Very weird that this one who is supposedly older still has them..

Definitely not that old. In a way it's a good thing. You'll know for sure that this baby wasn't kept to dry for an extended period of time before you received it.

 

[zovick]

I’m a new mommy to a baby red foot tort and I noticed today that she has skin like on the bottom of her shell and I honestly thought at first it was a piece of leaf stuck to her and when I tried to take it off I realized it was attached to her and I don’t know if she’s shedding or what it is??? Someone please help me thank you!!

View attachment 302911

As others have said, the tissue you are seeing is the remnant which is left after the rest of the yolk sac has been absorbed into the belly of the tortoise. It should dry up and come off eventually. This is not a necessity, but you could help it along by trimming it away with a very fine sharp pair of scissors with a gently curved blade. Place the scissors (curve up) parallel to to bottom shell of the tortoise and just cut it away, being careful not to cut into the shell or into anything fleshy that might still be protruding out (though it doesn't appear that anything like that is showing).

 

[Rllyank]

As others have said, the tissue you are seeing is the remnant which is left after the rest of the yolk sac has been absorbed into the belly of the tortoise. It should dry up and come off eventually. This is not a necessity, but you could help it along by trimming it away with a very fine sharp pair of scissors with a gently curved blade. Place the scissors (curve up) parallel to to bottom shell of the tortoise and just cut it away, being careful not to cut into the shell or into anything fleshy that might still be protruding out (though it doesn't appear that anything like that is showing).

Thank you so much!!! I can be kind of clumsy sometimes and would not want to risk anything so I think I will just let it dry up by itself! Another question, would it be bad if instead of keeping her inside w her artificial uvb, could I possibly keep her outside in the sun and soak her and feed her outside? Obviously I wouldn’t leave her unattended but inside her terrarium she likes to stay inside her little hut most of the time and doesn’t get much uvb and I wouldn’t want her having problems w calcium levels, her shell, etc Later on so I was thinking about keeping her outside for a couple hours a day.. I just don’t know if it’s a good or bad idea considering she’s so young..

 

[zovick]

Thank you so much!!! I can be kind of clumsy sometimes and would not want to risk anything so I think I will just let it dry up by itself! Another question, would it be bad if instead of keeping her inside w her artificial uvb, could I possibly keep her outside in the sun and soak her and feed her outside? Obviously I wouldn’t leave her unattended but inside her terrarium she likes to stay inside her little hut most of the time and doesn’t get much uvb and I wouldn’t want her having problems w calcium levels, her shell, etc Later on so I was thinking about keeping her outside for a couple hours a day.. I just don’t know if it’s a good or bad idea considering she’s so young..

It is a Redfooted Tortoise and they do not need a tremendous amount of UV light. If the area where you are keeping the tortoise is too bright for its liking, that could explain why it is remaining more hidden. However, you haven't had it all that long (only 1 day), and they dislike change as well, which is another reason it might be staying out of sight. What is your indoor source of UVB? If it is a coil, that is not good and might be yet another reason the tortoise is not venturing out more.

All that being said, a couple of hours outside will do no harm BUT you must make sure it has shade and knows how to get into it to prevent overheating. Also be very aware that baby tortoises are extremely good at hiding themselves and also very good at wiggling out from under fences. If you take the tortoise outside, I would caution you to watch it constantly to prevent "losing" it. It doesn't take them more than a minute to become lost from sight.

A final note, with a newly acquired tortoise, the best thing to do is to simply leave it alone for a week or more other than doing the bare minimum of handling needed for soaking, feeding, etc. so it can become used to its new home and develop a routine. I recommend soaking in the AM, placing it in front of its food, and then leaving it alone till the next morning when the process should be repeated. Carrying it in and out daily is just another stressor to an animal that is most likely already stressed from hatching out of a comfortable egg, then being moved from its prior home to your home, and all inside of a week or two.

 

[zovick]

Thank you so much!!! I can be kind of clumsy sometimes and would not want to risk anything so I think I will just let it dry up by itself! Another question, would it be bad if instead of keeping her inside w her artificial uvb, could I possibly keep her outside in the sun and soak her and feed her outside? Obviously I wouldn’t leave her unattended but inside her terrarium she likes to stay inside her little hut most of the time and doesn’t get much uvb and I wouldn’t want her having problems w calcium levels, her shell, etc Later on so I was thinking about keeping her outside for a couple hours a day.. I just don’t know if it’s a good or bad idea considering she’s so young..

Also you should read this thread concerning UVB and Redfoots: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/to-uvb-or-not-to-uvb-that-is-the-question-redfoots.184904/

 

[Rllyank]

Also you should read this thread concerning UVB and Redfoots: https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/to-uvb-or-not-to-uvb-that-is-the-question-redfoots.184904/

Thank you!!!!!!

 

[Sarah2020]

Looks very young so extra care required. Just to put this in perspective search and look at the pics in this thread and the healing from day 1 to day 6. Sudan Sulcatas (This never gets old...)