I Think I "Misdiagnosed" Shell Rot...

[SasquatchTortoise]

So the last few weeks we have had consistent rain, and the greenhouse which our sulcata stays in during the winter had started to flood a bit (the ground is dirt). Along with some freezing temperatures, we had to take her inside to the laundry room- it's pretty much empty in there- nothing she can really hurt herself on. However being in closer quarters with "her" (probably a him, I have seen an unusual looking... anyways) made me notice something I originally attributed to erosion or damage from our hard and rocky clay soil-



I'm no photographer, and the lighting makes the peeling (if any) more severe than it actually is- it's more of a 'thicker' area of shell. the darker spot- that definitely looks darker than it used to be- they used to just look eroded from entering and exiting her burrow, but they areas don't seem to have damage, except scratches from rough soil(?). also- the two peeled off areas on the center left in the middle of the scute- those are very old, and I am much more certain that those came from injury to a rock in the roof of his/her burrow (at least, that's what I thought at the time- there was a large, somewhat pointy stone embedded there). and as a side note, she was just born with the tiny scute on the right


There is some small chipping in this image away from the growth rings, I believe. The white growth lines at the edges of her scutes seem thicker than others' I have seen, I do not know if that is a cause for concern. In the second Image- He has some tiny flakes on the shell in a few places- in the image, they make the shell look lighter but they almost look like skin flakes up close. I haven't seen any other pictures that look exactly like this

What I'm guessing this is all from:
1. wear from entering and exiting her burrow, but it hasn't seemed to heal. If anything it has gotten a little worse (maybe, or I could just be imagining it). Some of it definitely started this way
2. a few details about housing- she has a night box for winter, inside of a greenhouse so she can walk around a little more I make sure the temp stays above ~70-75 F and may only dip for a very short time (i.e., I forget to close the door early). If it gets really cold, I sometimes have to throw in an old lamp to generate a little extra heat, but I had to do this more often this winter because of the excessive moisture. I am fixing this ASAP (switching the heat panel for a really small space heater I have), but she may have gotten too close to the light source, drying the shell(?).
3.Our winters usually have more frequent dry and warm periods. But since this winter has been different, I haven't had as many opportunities to soak her.
4. Admittedly, I didn't find this site and/or all of the good information they provide until after I got "her" and didn't know how crucial water/ humidity was at a young age.
5. Just guessing- I have no idea- but perhaps shell rot originally entered through those injuries from the rock, and areas that look like someone took a little sandpaper to them.

Sorry if I loaded too much information onto here. I feel terrible for writing it off as a side effect of digging. It just hasn't improved much, and that concerns me. Anyone have knowledge of this, and what I should do?

 

[Tom]

You can't use heat lamps or CHEs over larger tortoises. They are not effective heat sources and they will slow-burn the carapace, causing the type of damage you are seeing there.

Shell rot is a fungal infection that happens on the plastron. This is almost never seen on any species except red or yellow foot tortoises.

70-75 is too cold. Keep it above 80 on days when the tortoise can't get outside to bask and warm up in the sun. I set my thermostats in my night boxes to 86 during winter cold spells.

Here are two different heating strategies that are safe and effective:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

 

[SasquatchTortoise]

You can't use heat lamps or CHEs over larger tortoises. They are not effective heat sources and they will slow-burn the carapace, causing the type of damage you are seeing there.

Shell rot is a fungal infection that happens on the plastron. This is almost never seen on any species except red or yellow foot tortoises.

70-75 is too cold. Keep it above 80 on days when the tortoise can't get outside to bask and warm up in the sun. I set my thermostats in my night boxes to 86 during winter cold spells.

Here are two different heating strategies that are safe and effective:

Single Tortoise Night Box

I like my larger tortoises to live outside full time. My climate permits this year round with a little help. For people who live where it snows all winter, this type of box is still good for warmer weather, getting them out earlier in Spring, and keeping them out a bit later into fall. You'll...

tortoiseforum.org

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

Thank you for the reply. I was aware they weren’t a great option, I didn’t know they were that bad (not using this as an excuse!)
I don’t know if this is relevant- her body surface temperature usually reads higher than 75, as I have a flat stone that holds some heat which she rests on.
Quick question. I wanted to see if I could use what I already have to warm the night box better- do you think that a “handy heater” would work? They’re quite powerful for their size, and I would imagine it could heat up a box in a few minutes on a thermostat. The only trick would be making sure it’s secure to the wall

 

[Tom]

Thank you for the reply. I was aware they weren’t a great option, I didn’t know they were that bad (not using this as an excuse!)
I don’t know if this is relevant- her body surface temperature usually reads higher than 75, as I have a flat stone that holds some heat which she rests on.
Quick question. I wanted to see if I could use what I already have to warm the night box better- do you think that a “handy heater” would work? They’re quite powerful for their size, and I would imagine it could heat up a box in a few minutes on a thermostat. The only trick would be making sure it’s secure to the wall

Where sulcatas come from, the ground temperatures never drop below 80-85. They spend 95% of their lives underground in the wild. It usually around 100 topside every day, over 110F in some areas of the range, and this is what they need. 70-75 is too cool. They can certainly survive colder temperatures, but it is not "good" for them. Over 80 all the time is "good" for them.

I don't know what a "handy heater" is. Any type of space heater can work, as long as it is not overheating the scutes, but most of them are very inefficient. I looked it up and it seems like it could work, but I have no experience with anything like that. Try it out, watch the temps carefully, and see if it works to maintain the correct temperatures reasonably efficiently. Teach us what you learn. The most efficient type I have found are the radiant oil heaters. I use minis in my larger night boxes, and I use the full size ones to heat my whole reptile room.