Help please! (Peeling skin)

[tykariuswife30]

Hello everyone! I have a 10 week old golden Greek tortoise named Ollie he is an amazing, stubborn, but good tortoise! Lately he's been shedding around his neck and the top of his head. He is growing about two to four grams every week I weigh him. He absolutely hates soaking, but we do it every day in distilled warm water. Every time he soaks he scratches off the patches that are peeling. Well about a week ago he scratched off one of his scales on the top of his head and it didn't grow back a normal color and now it looks like it's growing back around it very strangely. Can anyone tell me what to do or put on it? He has enough humidity too but I'm worried he scratched it badly.

 

[tykariuswife30]

@yvonne

 

[Randi]

I personally wouldn't soak in distilled water. It is safe to use when misting and can reduce some maintenance as it won't leave hard water deposits but it's not really safe for humans to consume so I wouldn't feel comfortable using it on a tortoise. I think warm tap water would be much better.

You would treat their wounds like ours. Make sure to clean it, and then apply polysporin or something similar. Make sure to keep it clean and it should heal over time.

 

[Tom]

Its not normal for them to be peeling like that.

What sort of UV are you using and at what distance from the tortoise?

I agree with Randi. Don't soak in distilled. They need the minerals in "regular" water. You can use bottled spring water if you like, or "purified" tap water. I think rinsing with distilled after a soak will probably be fine and it will prevent hard water stains. I use rain water that I capture and filter for this purpose.

 

[tykariuswife30]

Thank you @Tom and @Randi I just looked back at this. I'm guessing this is my problem with the little marks on his shell. I actually read about the distilled water (saying that you need to soak them in it) on here so I'm glad you guys said no don't do that. I will change that from now on. Thank you so much!

 

[Randi]

You're very welcome for any advice I could provide. I normally don't comment on any thread - the only time I tend to comment is if there aren't any replies or if I feel I can add something to the conversation. There are many on here with great advice and lots of experience and I don't want to take away from their posts. I'm glad I could offer some assistance. I hope that wound is starting to look better. Best of luck to you and yours