- Joined
- Feb 15, 2013
- Messages
- 9
New Owner needs some help please!
Hey Tortoise Forum members,
My name is Marissa and I recently bought a red foot tortoise hatchling, he/she measures 3 inches (shell) long. I decided to name him Milo. I have been concerned because I have been reading posts about shell rot, and the MBD. I have been reading posts about it because when I recieved Milo, last Wednesday (2/13) he was somewhat dirty, of course because he burrows, but I gave him a good soaking, and used a toothbrush to gently wash away the dirt. I have noticed that the marginals (bottom scutes) have what appears to be dirt stuck on them, and here we are almost a week later and this "dirt" still has not gone away. Also, if you google image "red foot tortoise hatchling" you'll notice that most of the tortoises have very nice smooth shells on the bottom, where the top shell meets the plastron. As days have gone by i have googled shell rot, i have looked at pictures of shell rot, and i have looked at everything the internet has to offer, and i cannot find a picture of anything that looks like what milo has going on. Yesterday I went to petsmart, (without Milo because we live in a cold state) and I showed her some pictures I have taken of Him, and the lady assures me that nothing is wrong, and that it's just his "coloring". She also reminded me that employees don't know much about tortoises, which is understandable. My dad tells me it is nothing, he's just growing, but I fear that there IS something wrong, so I'm turning to you experts for help :shy: And as for his habitat, I don't think thats the problem since he arrived in this condition, but I have him in a big plastic bin, very comfortable for his size, for substrate he has Coconut fiber, and in his hide away he has some moss. He also has a humid hide, and of course a food and water dish. I have fed him a spring mix of greens, which does not contain kale or spinach. he has a few rocks to climb on, and I have a heat lamp on one end of the enclosure for basking, and the gradient goes from about 73 degrees by his hide, up to around 90 where the heatlamp is on the other side. I turn his lamp off at night. During the day I also mist the habitat 2-3 times to keep the humidity up. I have been giving him short soaks, and he is not over fed, I give him about 2-3 leaves a day. I have put calcium powder on his food as well. Now today, (2/18) I was checking on my little man, i noticed the middle of his plastron is getting a bit soft, yes its firm but if i push mildly hard it starts to give way. Also some of the scutes about the marginals appear to be the same way. Common signs of shell rot inform me that there is usually white spots, or black, and in his case its like a brown crust almost. I just want my little guy to be okay, and live a long life, and my main question, is should I treat him for shell rot to see if this helps or whats my best option in getting him healthy again. He IS active, he is eating just fine, and i take him out to excersise for about half an hour a day. He's been drinking, and all of that good stuff. Thanks for the replies in advance, I hope someone has a good answer, I am trying to add pictures to this now of close ups of the marginals.
- Marissa & Milo
Hey Tortoise Forum members,
My name is Marissa and I recently bought a red foot tortoise hatchling, he/she measures 3 inches (shell) long. I decided to name him Milo. I have been concerned because I have been reading posts about shell rot, and the MBD. I have been reading posts about it because when I recieved Milo, last Wednesday (2/13) he was somewhat dirty, of course because he burrows, but I gave him a good soaking, and used a toothbrush to gently wash away the dirt. I have noticed that the marginals (bottom scutes) have what appears to be dirt stuck on them, and here we are almost a week later and this "dirt" still has not gone away. Also, if you google image "red foot tortoise hatchling" you'll notice that most of the tortoises have very nice smooth shells on the bottom, where the top shell meets the plastron. As days have gone by i have googled shell rot, i have looked at pictures of shell rot, and i have looked at everything the internet has to offer, and i cannot find a picture of anything that looks like what milo has going on. Yesterday I went to petsmart, (without Milo because we live in a cold state) and I showed her some pictures I have taken of Him, and the lady assures me that nothing is wrong, and that it's just his "coloring". She also reminded me that employees don't know much about tortoises, which is understandable. My dad tells me it is nothing, he's just growing, but I fear that there IS something wrong, so I'm turning to you experts for help :shy: And as for his habitat, I don't think thats the problem since he arrived in this condition, but I have him in a big plastic bin, very comfortable for his size, for substrate he has Coconut fiber, and in his hide away he has some moss. He also has a humid hide, and of course a food and water dish. I have fed him a spring mix of greens, which does not contain kale or spinach. he has a few rocks to climb on, and I have a heat lamp on one end of the enclosure for basking, and the gradient goes from about 73 degrees by his hide, up to around 90 where the heatlamp is on the other side. I turn his lamp off at night. During the day I also mist the habitat 2-3 times to keep the humidity up. I have been giving him short soaks, and he is not over fed, I give him about 2-3 leaves a day. I have put calcium powder on his food as well. Now today, (2/18) I was checking on my little man, i noticed the middle of his plastron is getting a bit soft, yes its firm but if i push mildly hard it starts to give way. Also some of the scutes about the marginals appear to be the same way. Common signs of shell rot inform me that there is usually white spots, or black, and in his case its like a brown crust almost. I just want my little guy to be okay, and live a long life, and my main question, is should I treat him for shell rot to see if this helps or whats my best option in getting him healthy again. He IS active, he is eating just fine, and i take him out to excersise for about half an hour a day. He's been drinking, and all of that good stuff. Thanks for the replies in advance, I hope someone has a good answer, I am trying to add pictures to this now of close ups of the marginals.
- Marissa & Milo
Last edited by a moderator: