Is his shell okay?

[Carrie Routt]

I have gone from wanting to adopt an adult sulcata to owning 6!!!!
So, now I have a 2 year old, 3-3 year olds and a 20 year old.
The biggest one is named Aristotle and he appears to have some very dry spots on his skin and shell.
I will post pictures. Please respond to what I can do to help him now. He was raised by the same people from a hatchling.
We have 7 acres and he has a big enclosure. He was in a small back yard in the city. They sent his house with him. He is super friendly. No, he is NOT with the younger guys. We have separate enclosures for different needs including indoor enclosures for the smaller ones.
We have only had him 2 days. He eats the kale and cactus sent with him and has started eating grass. They also sent pellets and apples. He has not pooped since he arrived although he has peed. He does grunt. I will upload pics asap.

 

[Carrie Routt]

 

[Carrie Routt]

 

[Carrie Routt]

 

[Tom]

Looks like he grew up in very dry conditions. Where are you?

He would benefit from some frequent warm soaks for a while in a very large tub.

Also, adding some humidity to his heated night house might help a bit too. Don't do this if his house isn't well sealed and insulated and if it doesn't stay nice and warm on a cold winter night.

Basically the damage is already done. Adding some hydration and humidity might help smooth things out a little over the next few years of growth.

Here are some night box examples in case you need some ideas:
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/another-night-box-thread.88966/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/my-best-night-box-design-yet.66867/
http://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/double-door-night-box.129054/

 

[Carrie Routt]

I am in Texas.

 

[Carrie Routt]

His house is not sealed. We are doing that next weekend. It is sturdy and strong but drafty. We are sealing the edges and corners and then working on insulating it. He puts himself in it around 4:30 in the afternoon for the night.

 

[Carrie Routt]

He has a floor to his house. Our other houses do not have floors so that we can moisten the ground to go with the heat. We use ceramic heat lamps at night. His house came with a space heater hung on the wall above his reach.

 

[Carrie Routt]

Is soaking him a good idea if it is cold? I can heat his house up but will that be enough after a soaking?

 

[Tom]

He has a floor to his house. Our other houses do not have floors so that we can moisten the ground to go with the heat. We use ceramic heat lamps at night. His house came with a space heater hung on the wall above his reach.

Open floors are no good for sulcatas. The cold earth sucks away too much heat and they will sometimes dig. Deep.

Ceramic heat lamps are no good for larger tortoises, especially with open floors. Their bottom half will be too cold while the top of their carapace slow-burns under the CHE. CHEs concentrate too much heat over one small area.

Space heaters can work, but the fire risk and risk of failure is high. They also use tremendous amounts of electricity and they are extremely desiccating too.

I arrived at the methods in the threads I linked above after many years of trial and error. The same errors that you are making now. I don't mean that to be mean, I'm just trying to save you all the years it took me to learn what I'm telling you. Eventually, after you see enough shell damage and realize how ineffective and problematic your current methods are, you'll figure out all the same stuff I figured out. I'm just offering a short cut for the benefit of your tortoises. I mean no offense. Just trying to help and answer your question.

 

[Tom]

Is soaking him a good idea if it is cold? I can heat his house up but will that be enough after a soaking?

You need to use warm water and you need to do it in a warm area. This might not be easy or practical, but such are the joys of owning giant tortoises.

 

[Carrie Routt]

Thank you and no this does sound mean. It is an answer to what I am asking. This is great. Thanks for the info and your time. I will work on this asap.

 

[Carrie Routt]

Does not. Haha!

 

[Bogie=babyDINO]

Yay you are a tortoise rescuer! Good job!! They will be so happy with you

 

[Yvonne G]

It looks to me as if his previous keeper might have had the heat/light a bit too close to the top of the tortoise's shell and the new growth areas were damaged from the heat. It wasn't too close to actually burn the shell and underlying bone, but just close enough for new growth damage to have occurred. Since he's already past the quick growing stage, these areas might not be repairable. But you can give oil a try. Take a Q-tip and paint on either mineral oil or extra virgin coconut oil, only painting the areas of new growth between the scutes. Allow it to soak in for a half hour or so, then wipe off the excess with a clean, absorbent cotton cloth.

Your girls are beautiful. You're going to have a lot of fun when they get to be teen agers!!

 

[Carrie Routt]

It looks to me as if his previous keeper might have had the heat/light a bit too close to the top of the tortoise's shell and the new growth areas were damaged from the heat. It wasn't too close to actually burn the shell and underlying bone, but just close enough for new growth damage to have occurred. Since he's already past the quick growing stage, these areas might not be repairable. But you can give oil a try. Take a Q-tip and paint on either mineral oil or extra virgin coconut oil, only painting the areas of new growth between the scutes. Allow it to soak in for a half hour or so, then wipe off the excess with a clean, absorbent cotton cloth.

Your girls are beautiful. You're going to have a lot of fun when they get to be teen agers!!

Thank you. Would you look at the fist pic of his rear and see if you can tell if he needs to have his shell filed. His tale does not come out and from what I can tell his poo is flattened as it is coming. Wondering if this is an issue or looks normal. I DO have a vet I can have take a look at it if needed. I would NEVER do something lie that myself.