Tofu, its a sulcata tortoise (cant determine its gender yet) has got these white lines around its scutes.. and his head. I have also noticed that the right side of its shell smells.. off ive bathed it with baby shampoo. Found the brand thats most mild on my eye (some baby soaps that i have encountered burns my eye so i decided to test each one of them) and even after ive bathed it and dried it off the right part still smells off, i mean it just has just pooed earlier might have been me not cleaning him thoroughly enough but could it be shell rot ?. Hes active eats a lot
Is this shell rot or fungal infection ?
- Thread starter Tofu
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- Location (City and/or State)
- South Eastern Florida (U.S.A.)/Rock Hill S.C.
I see no evidence of a fungal issue
Chubbs the tegu
Well-Known Member
Looks good to me
Your tortoise does not have shell rot. Shell rot only occurs on the plastron and its caused by living on wet substrate all the time. Sulcatas don't usually get it, even when kept in bad conditions.
Your tortoise is starting to pyramid. Probably from overly dry conditions, or possibly the wrong bulbs for basking.
You should never use any kind of soap on your tortoise. They can absorb water through there skin, and any water on their head can trickle into their mouth. You don't need it and this could really mess up a little tiny baby like that.
Have you seen the care info? Most of what you find out in the world for them is wrong. Here is the right info:
tortoiseforum.org
tortoiseforum.org
Questions are welcome.
Your tortoise is starting to pyramid. Probably from overly dry conditions, or possibly the wrong bulbs for basking.
You should never use any kind of soap on your tortoise. They can absorb water through there skin, and any water on their head can trickle into their mouth. You don't need it and this could really mess up a little tiny baby like that.
Have you seen the care info? Most of what you find out in the world for them is wrong. Here is the right info:
Beginner Mistakes
To comment on Tom's article, go here: http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread-split-Beginner-Mistakes#axzz1tG8s05M5 Over the years many of us, myself included, have made many of these mistakes, and we have certainly seen them made many times by others. With springtime upon us and many new...
tortoiseforum.org
How To Raise A Healthy Sulcata Or Leopard, Version 2.0
It's been three years since the original care sheet, http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-63788.html , and I think its time for a review and an update. A lot of new info has come to light over the last three years and new insight has been gained through numerous experiences. What follows is my...
tortoiseforum.org
For Those Who Have a Young Sulcata...
Over and over I type up and answer diet questions and try to get people feeding the right stuff, but I find that the "norm" is grocery store food. Grocery store food is expensive, a hassle to obtain, and very low on the list of what is best for sulcatas. These tortoises are GRASS eaters. From...
tortoiseforum.org
Questions are welcome.
Thanks guys and tofu is kept at around 75% humidity and the temp here is quite hot its 32° and 29° at night. Oh and the pyramiding on the shell.. yeah im currently trying to fix that it was given mustard greens every single time it eats by its previous owner and ive started to give it a balanced diet mostly grass
Oh and this is its current enclosure..
Looks messy i know, been trying to tidy it up. Theres a 40W basking light, a uvb bulb,
A water dish, a makeshift "cave" for it and a small manmade burrow for it to choose from. The substrate is cocopeat
Looks messy i know, been trying to tidy it up. Theres a 40W basking light, a uvb bulb,
A water dish, a makeshift "cave" for it and a small manmade burrow for it to choose from. The substrate is cocopeat
Holy cats, batman! that's a beautiful little Sulcata with new growth lines...he looks great...but I'd stop the shampoo baths...he's a wild animal, and no where in the wild would he come across shampoo. he probably smells cuz he IS a wild animal and might smell a little wild. Treat that baby like the 'wild' animal he is and he'll be fine...but plz stop putting chemicals on him...
The 'slight' pyramiding seen on your baby is not caused from food...it's mostly a lack of humidity. Y
our baby needs a humid hide that's abt 90% humidity and a basking site of the same maybe...but humidity is extremely important to that baby...I see Tom has posted his advice on keeping small Sulcata...it's very important to do...I'll attach a picture of a Sulcata that was dropped on me about 2 years ago...this is pyramiding...all his new growth is smooth and he weighs abt 35 lbs now...I can no longer hold him by my hand like in that 1 pix...all those white lines on him is new smooth growth...he's Knobby...
You've got a lot of work to do. You can't keep a Sulcata like that. Please read the links Tom provided.
oh, Tod il try to make its enclosure a bit bigger but for now, that's all that I've currently got... I usually put it out to graze on some grass and most of the time it usually roams around the house, I put it in that "bucket" or whatever you want to call it just for it to sleep in, once I'm awake I put it out of its enclosure for him to play around and explore. And don't worry if its out and its grazing on the grass I keep my eyes on it just in case if it gets bitten by fire ants or a bird decides to pick it up although there's really no bird in my vicinity that can pick it up most of them are just small old world sparrows
The tortoise should never be free roaming in the house or outdoors. Its a recipe for disaster.
Those cfl type UV bulb sometimes burn their eyes and should not be used.
The basking bulb needs to be hung from over head and you need to adjust the height to get the correct temperature under it.
You can use any large tub, horse watering trough, or make an enclosure with old scrap wood and some screws or nails. The tortoise needs something larger and more suitable.
Pyramiding is not caused by food. Its cause by growth in conditions that are too dry. Even in a humid climate, their carapace can get too dry under the wrong type of bulb, or a bulb that is too close.
Read those care sheets I linked previously for all the correct care info.
the temperature here is quite hot and I've done a bit of research on the best temperature for sulcata tortoises and its 21 c at night and around 37 degrees on the hot side.. and currently, the whole enclosure temp is around 31-35 degree c without any lamp I'm just a bit scared what if the lamp put overhead increases the temp too much. Tofu usually basks under the light but for like 30 seconds after it dips in its water plate even that is quite rare should i even use any UVA light ? because almost everyday i can put him under the sun for him to bask (with shade of course) and yes I won't use the cfl bulb any more Thanks for the help ?
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oh and yes Tom or anyone if you don't mind can you attach a picture of a dried carapace compared to a moist carapace? i can't find the picture so if it gets too dry or too moist I can take the right actions
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21C is way too cold at night. It shouldn't dip below 27, especially with your humidity.
You don't need indoor UV if your tortoise gets sunshine once or twice a week for most of the year.
The notches forming between the growing scutes are what indicate the problem. Its not about whether the carapace is moist or dry, its about over all humidity, hydration, and not drying out the carapace too much with the worng bulbs, or the wrong placement of bulbs.
okay, so the humidity should be around 80-90% constantly? and I soak Tofu every day around 30 mins but I have started to notice that its plastron gets quite "soggy" after the soaks. And if the humidity is high around 80-90% should I be worried about those white fungus growing on the shell?
Yes on the high humidity, BUT you MUST keep it warm. High humidity at 21C can make them sick. Wherever you read that 21 is okay, they are wrong. That is old incorrect out-dated info, and likely anything else from that source of info will be wrong too. Did you get your night temperature up where it needs to be? No colder than 27 anywhere in the enclosure day or night.
A soggy plastron after a soak is fine. Use enough water to get at least part of the carapace wet during soaks too.
In more than 10 years of keeping hundreds of babies of many species this way, including hundreds of sulcatas, I have never had any fungus issues. During that time, many people all over the globe, Germany, Japan, Philipines, Indonesia, China, Mexico, Canada, Spain, Morocco, Africa, Alaska, and all over the USA, have all had the same excellent and fungus free results.
Yeah the temp here is quite hot its 33°c during the afternoon and 29°c at night.. at least thats what the thermometer is showing right now and ive made sure that its substrate is damp and i mist it 2-3 times a day when the humidity drops below 79%
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Hello,
I wish you well with your new tort..
but.......
Tom is gonna......well.....not be happy with the plate and all....(if he has not already responded...)....
Again.... good luck with your baby and listen to ALL of the advice given on the forum... These guys KNOW what they are taking about.. ?
