HELP! Baby Sulcata has red area on foot/neck [PICS]

michaelbogo

New Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
Boerne TX
Hello fellow Tortoise lovers! Overly concerned tortoise papa here just trying to get some opinions on my baby Sulcata.

His name is herby and he/she is roughly 4 months old. I have recently noticed some slight redness on his front right leg and neck area but no where else have we noticed it. We immediately started googling and of course I assume the worst and thought it was possibly Septicemia. We have a vet visit scheduled in on September 4th as a checkup, but I wanted to make sure we didn't need to get him in to see the vet any sooner.

He is constantly running around, eating well, and digging in is pelletized grass bedding, so his activity levels are high! I feed him a combination of leafy greens, zucchini, cucumbers, aloe vera, diced celery and green beans with the occasional couple of green peas as a treat. We give him calcium supplements sprinkled on to his food once a week and we soak him in shallow lukewarm water every other day for ~5 minutes. The warm side of his 20gal tank is consistently at about 95F while the cool side is at room temp ~70-78F. He also eats his feces every once in a while when I am not home, hence the dark spots.

I have attached some pics of the redness and under his shell as well. Let me know what you think! Thanks in advance for any help you can provide.

Here are the pics:

IMG-0750.JPG IMG-0752.JPG IMG-0754.JPG IMG-0755.JPG
 

TechnoCheese

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Welcome to the forum!
I’m not sure what the redness is, but your care needs a lot of change.

-tortoises should never be housed on pellets. They need a damp, earthy substrate to keep humidity 80 and above, and it is impossible to do that with pellets. Your tortoise is already starting to pyramid from lack of humidity.

-That diet needs to change. He needs to be eating weeds, and very few grocery store food. They should be fed little to no grocery store food, and vegetables like zucchini should be fed once a month or less, or not at all.

-your tortoise needs to be soaked every single day for 20-40 minutes in 90-100 degree water. Just 5 minutes will do almost nothing for them.

-the cool side/night temp is much, much too low. The temps should never go below 80 in the coldest part of the enclosure, day and night.

-a 20 gallon is way too small. I wouldn’t use less than a 40 gallon, and even that will only last a few months at most. It’s best to start them in a 2x4 foot enclosure, and move them into a 4x8 foot one when you get it built.

Have you tried scrubbing the redness off with a tooth brush? Have you fed him anything red lately?
Please give these a read and come back with questions-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php...ealthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/
 

Bambam1989

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Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
3,112
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
I agree with @TechnoCheese that the care needs an upgrade. We have learned so much in just the last few years about what these guys really need. Please give those a read and if you want us to explain something or our reasons for it, just ask. Our goal is not to just to help your tort survive, but to THRIVE so you can enjoy them for a long long time.

For the redness, it looks like an abrasion or skin irritation. If you post pics of his current enclosure, we can look to see if we can spot the cause. Septicemia usually appears as redness in the underside of the shell, like blotches.
 

michaelbogo

New Member
Joined
Aug 31, 2018
Messages
2
Location (City and/or State)
Boerne TX
Welcome to the forum!
I’m not sure what the redness is, but your care needs a lot of change.

-tortoises should never be housed on pellets. They need a damp, earthy substrate to keep humidity 80 and above, and it is impossible to do that with pellets. Your tortoise is already starting to pyramid from lack of humidity.

-That diet needs to change. He needs to be eating weeds, and very few grocery store food. They should be fed little to no grocery store food, and vegetables like zucchini should be fed once a month or less, or not at all.

-your tortoise needs to be soaked every single day for 20-40 minutes in 90-100 degree water. Just 5 minutes will do almost nothing for them.

-the cool side/night temp is much, much too low. The temps should never go below 80 in the coldest part of the enclosure, day and night.

-a 20 gallon is way too small. I wouldn’t use less than a 40 gallon, and even that will only last a few months at most. It’s best to start them in a 2x4 foot enclosure, and move them into a 4x8 foot one when you get it built.

Have you tried scrubbing the redness off with a tooth brush? Have you fed him anything red lately?
Please give these a read and come back with questions-
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0 https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/How-To-Raise-A-Healthy-Sulcata-Or-Leopard,-Version-2.0.79895/

For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata... https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/For-Those-Who-Have-a-Young-Sulcata....76744/

Beginner Mistakes https://tortoiseforum.org/index.php?threads/Beginner-Mistakes.45180/


Thank you guys for your advice!

We've been asking the pet store where we got him all these questions and they recommended these care items. We won't be listening to them anymore!

We will be changing his bedding to cypress mulch and spraying a mist bottle to keep the humidity up. We'll add a light to increase the night time temperature and increase the soaking times. He really doesn't like being in the water, but we'll get a higher wall dish to ensure he soaks for the proper amount of time.

we've got loads of mulberries around us and bermuda grass. We're thinking of buying a few trays of wheat grass and growing it on our porch and clipping it daily for feeding. We'll change his diet off store bought food, although the foods we have been feeding him have been deemed "good" for them by members of this website forum (aloe vera, cucumbers etc...).

Any other tips you can recommend? We like to let him wonder around the living room for 15-30 minutes a day for some exercise. I don't know if that's ok or not... We'll add a plastic sheet to the top of his enclosure to keep humidity up as we live in a pretty dry area.

Is his pyramiding due to the dryness? or something he's not getting in his diet? we suppliment with RepCal on his food as mentioned previously thinking that was the cause of all pyramid (lack of calcium).

Let me know if I'm missing anything else and thanks for the tips!
 

TechnoCheese

Well-Known Member
5 Year Member
Platinum Tortoise Club
Joined
Feb 20, 2016
Messages
4,505
Location (City and/or State)
Lewisville, Texas
Thank you guys for your advice!

We've been asking the pet store where we got him all these questions and they recommended these care items. We won't be listening to them anymore!

We will be changing his bedding to cypress mulch and spraying a mist bottle to keep the humidity up. We'll add a light to increase the night time temperature and increase the soaking times. He really doesn't like being in the water, but we'll get a higher wall dish to ensure he soaks for the proper amount of time.

we've got loads of mulberries around us and bermuda grass. We're thinking of buying a few trays of wheat grass and growing it on our porch and clipping it daily for feeding. We'll change his diet off store bought food, although the foods we have been feeding him have been deemed "good" for them by members of this website forum (aloe vera, cucumbers etc...).

Any other tips you can recommend? We like to let him wonder around the living room for 15-30 minutes a day for some exercise. I don't know if that's ok or not... We'll add a plastic sheet to the top of his enclosure to keep humidity up as we live in a pretty dry area.

Is his pyramiding due to the dryness? or something he's not getting in his diet? we suppliment with RepCal on his food as mentioned previously thinking that was the cause of all pyramid (lack of calcium).

Let me know if I'm missing anything else and thanks for the tips!

Yep, definitely don’t listen to them anymore, lol.

Pyramiding is caused entirely by lack of humidity, and nothing else. The calcium thing was a myth from a while ago.

You said you’ll keep a light on him at night, but at night, they need total darkness. I would get a ceramic heat emitter.

Definitely don’t let him roam your floor. It’s much too cold, and so, so many things go wrong.

Those foods are good in moderation, but should not be a large part of the diet. Aloe Vera is great, but is a laxative if given too often.

Just to be sure, be sure you know how to soak. You should not be soaking in their water bowl, which they can walk out of. Get a large tub/Tupperware container, fill it to the tortoise’s chin with warm water, put a heat lamp near or on it to keep it warm(but not too close), and leave them there for a while. Be sure to change the water when it gets nasty.
 

Bambam1989

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Joined
Aug 15, 2017
Messages
3,112
Location (City and/or State)
East Texas
We don't recommend letting the tort crawl around the floor if your house, alot of things could go wrong(I'll go into detail if you want)
Many of the keepers here have proven that with most species(especially sulcatas), high humidity, coupled with proper temps is the key to preventing pyramiding.
 

Big Charlie

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5 Year Member
Joined
Jul 28, 2015
Messages
2,801
Location (City and/or State)
California
Thank you guys for your advice!

We've been asking the pet store where we got him all these questions and they recommended these care items. We won't be listening to them anymore!

We will be changing his bedding to cypress mulch and spraying a mist bottle to keep the humidity up. We'll add a light to increase the night time temperature and increase the soaking times. He really doesn't like being in the water, but we'll get a higher wall dish to ensure he soaks for the proper amount of time.

we've got loads of mulberries around us and bermuda grass. We're thinking of buying a few trays of wheat grass and growing it on our porch and clipping it daily for feeding. We'll change his diet off store bought food, although the foods we have been feeding him have been deemed "good" for them by members of this website forum (aloe vera, cucumbers etc...).

Any other tips you can recommend? We like to let him wonder around the living room for 15-30 minutes a day for some exercise. I don't know if that's ok or not... We'll add a plastic sheet to the top of his enclosure to keep humidity up as we live in a pretty dry area.

Is his pyramiding due to the dryness? or something he's not getting in his diet? we suppliment with RepCal on his food as mentioned previously thinking that was the cause of all pyramid (lack of calcium).

Let me know if I'm missing anything else and thanks for the tips!
Feed the mulberry leaves, not the fruit.
 

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