Painted shell

[a torte named Charlie]

Hi I am new to this forum but have a coulle of questions that maybe someone can offer me help with. I adopted a Russian Tortoise about 3-4 years ago from very bad living conditions. The person that had her was paid to take her and was 100% negligent to the poor thing. Charlie had also been bounced around from a few homes before I found her. 2 of the previous owners painted her shell. It was 2 little girls whose mother apparently let them paint poor Charlie with nail polish for entertainment. I hhave googled and researched how to remove it but I don’t want to put any more nasty chemicals on her like nail polish remover and will not use sandpaper. I do not want to traumatize my baby anymore than she already has been. I did try a couple of times with a non acetone polish remover (venilated air and chemical was immediately rinsed away) and it actually took a little of the natural color off of her shell in a spot ? My best guess is that she is around 12 years old. I found out about when the original owner bought her from a pet store and just have kinda guessed she is around that age. Her shell looks like the growth may have been stunted from the paints also. I had hope that the paint would have naturally worn off by now but there are atleast 3 layers. This is after I have tried over the years here and there to get some of it off of her without stressing her. Any advice would be appreciated greatly! Also, her beak is growing long. The longest since we have had her. She has a dish that should help keep it trimmed but apparently it isn’t. Any suggestions there? Thank you so much!

 

[Tom]

The paint has lasted for years?

How is the tortoise housed? Can we see pics of the enclosure?

Nail polish remover can't remove their natural color, but it can remove years of built up grime that is covering their natural color.

 

[Crush da Baum]

That is soo sad. I am so glad he found you.

 

[jeneliza]

Sad, people use to do this to wild turtles too, just aweful, try a little baking soda, , and a soft tooth brush, it's a little rough but shouldnt hurt the shell, make sure not to get to much on her skin, it will burn there eyes if it gets in them, do a little at a time, I would do it in a bath, and use gentle pressure, it will take more than once, however I think they probably use something stronger than nail polish, as a nail tech for years, I never heard of nail polish that strong, maybe model paint, it look very close to emmel nail polish, I would bet it not actually nail polish they used, anyway just scub with the baking soda, every few days, till you get past the first layer, then after that, keep checking to make sure, it's not roughing up the shell, this was recommended by my brother in-law, who rescues reptiles, and does a group on education for youth about reptiles, this what they use when they find Turtles with painted shells, he told me most ofen, they use model paint so it stay on them, and for some reason, people find this entertaining to paint turtles, and tortoises and in his case they put them back, so there now a huge target to other animals, and the shell doesn't grow right, people can't be so irritating,

 

[MichaelL]

I agree with Jeneliza, and also Tom in that it can't take away the color. Can you send some pics of your tortoise?

 

[Ray--Opo]

Welcome and good luck.

 

[Yvonne G]

Here are a few solutions I found when I asked my friend, Google:

Removing Paint

I was wondering if any one knows how to remove paint off a tortoise shell. I was talking with a lady at work and she said she found a tortoise and thinks it's a dt but the whole shell is painted red and she was wondering how to get it off.

www.tortoiseforum.org

"the rescue operation - which included getting the tortoise clean - took four days. According to the blog post, the real challenge came from getting the tortoise to sit still long enough to allow the nontoxic soy-based paint cleaner to work on her; it had to remain on her shell for 20 minutes before being wiped off. "

"Scraping may damage the shell, making it possible for bacteria to enter and cause an infection. And box turtles don't shed their scutes as water turtles do.
I have a friend who is a licensed wildlife rehabber in Florida and works with turtles and tortoises. She has used a product called "soysolv" to remove paint. It's made from soybean oil and is non-toxic. She says that it loosens the paint enough to scrub it off, but leaves an oily film that can be removed with Dawn dishwashing soap. Here's a link to the website:
http://soysolv.com/index.php/soysolvproducts/graff... "

 

[a torte named Charlie]

The paint has lasted for years?

How is the tortoise housed? Can we see pics of the enclosure?

Nail polish remover can't remove their natural color, but it can remove years of built up grime that is covering their natural color.

 

[a torte named Charlie]

Hope i posted those pics ok. Yes yrs. there r atleast 3 layers of nail polish and the first coat of paint seem of a different texture and is red so extra hard to budge. She lives in a 50 gal aquarium.

 

[a torte named Charlie]

Here are a few solutions I found when I asked my friend, Google:

Removing Paint

I was wondering if any one knows how to remove paint off a tortoise shell. I was talking with a lady at work and she said she found a tortoise and thinks it's a dt but the whole shell is painted red and she was wondering how to get it off.

www.tortoiseforum.org

"the rescue operation - which included getting the tortoise clean - took four days. According to the blog post, the real challenge came from getting the tortoise to sit still long enough to allow the nontoxic soy-based paint cleaner to work on her; it had to remain on her shell for 20 minutes before being wiped off. "

"Scraping may damage the shell, making it possible for bacteria to enter and cause an infection. And box turtles don't shed their scutes as water turtles do.
I have a friend who is a licensed wildlife rehabber in Florida and works with turtles and tortoises. She has used a product called "soysolv" to remove paint. It's made from soybean oil and is non-toxic. She says that it loosens the paint enough to scrub it off, but leaves an oily film that can be removed with Dawn dishwashing soap. Here's a link to the website:
http://soysolv.com/index.php/soysolvproducts/graff... "

Great advice. Thank you so much!

 

[a torte named Charlie]

That back right lighter spot is where i was afraid i had taken her natural color away

 

[a torte named Charlie]

I agree with Jeneliza, and also Tom in that it can't take away the color. Can you send some pics of your tortoise?

 

[a torte named Charlie]

Sad, people use to do this to wild turtles too, just aweful, try a little baking soda, , and a soft tooth brush, it's a little rough but shouldnt hurt the shell, make sure not to get to much on her skin, it will burn there eyes if it gets in them, do a little at a time, I would do it in a bath, and use gentle pressure, it will take more than once, however I think they probably use something stronger than nail polish, as a nail tech for years, I never heard of nail polish that strong, maybe model paint, it look very close to emmel nail polish, I would bet it not actually nail polish they used, anyway just scub with the baking soda, every few days, till you get past the first layer, then after that, keep checking to make sure, it's not roughing up the shell, this was recommended by my brother in-law, who rescues reptiles, and does a group on education for youth about reptiles, this what they use when they find Turtles with painted shells, he told me most ofen, they use model paint so it stay on them, and for some reason, people find this entertaining to paint turtles, and tortoises and in his case they put them back, so there now a huge target to other animals, and the shell doesn't grow right, people can't be so irritating,

Awesome i will definitely give this a try! The first time I saw her, not even knowing much about tortoises at the time i was infuriated with the way she looked and knew it wasn't good for her. I can't believe how cruel & thoughless some people can be. Tha ks for the advice and info ☺️

 

[a torte named Charlie]

Welcome and good luck.

Thank you! ?

 

[a torte named Charlie]

That is soo sad. I am so glad he found you.

Yes me too! It was very sad. She was in a 10 gal aquarium in the FLOOR of 2 wild little girls room. Had dust in her water dish, no foor other than old watermelon between her claws, no light and her heat rock wasn't even plugged in! I asked the woman at the time (because I didn't know yet) what kind of bedding she had and she said it was the egg crate she came with! She had had her for almost 2 years ?. Needless to say i did alot of research on tortes and am giving her the best life i can. Breaks my heart to think of all the other neglected babies that could be out there. I am just glad i found her. She has brought my family alot of joy!

 

[Ink]

Do the best you can. Saving a tortoise is scary but the experts here will help you. Good luck!

 

[MichaelL]

Just scrub it very thoroughly and hopefully it will come off?

 

[Yvonne G]

That back right lighter spot is where i was afraid i had taken her natural color away

That's new growth

 

[Yvonne G]

Looks like a russian tortoise. From my years of experience rescuing unwanted and abused tortoises, I have surmised (guessed) that a tortoise kept in the house on a poor diet with no UVB will grow the soft parts (skin, muscle, etc), but the shell either doesn't grow or grows much more slowly. That's why your tortoise looks too big for her shell. I've never kept one of these rescues (I adopted them to good homes), so I don't know if the shell will catch up to the body or not. She probably has a shortened lifespan, but with good care, there's no reason she won't give you many years of enjoyment.

 

[vladimir]

Thank you so much for rescuing her.