Please help! (red marks on face)

simpsonsfan1990

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My little guy Marty here has redness in his cheek and ear area. What does this mean? Can someone let me know what this means? I attached a photo of what it looks like
 

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Lyn W

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Hi and welcome.
What species and age is Marty?
Is it just the one ear affected? It coud be an infection or a sting/bite, perhaps even a burn (sun?)
Do you keep him inside or out (maybe both)?
Is he active, eating, pooping OK?
Is he showing signs of discomfort/pain?
If you can post a closer picture of his ear and pics of his enclosure and uvb and heat sources they may give a better idea of anything that could cause this.
Sorry for all the questions but the more details the easier it will be for members to advise.
Maybe @zovik @ZenHerper @Yvonne G or @Tom can help
 

simpsonsfan1990

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Location (City and/or State)
brooklyn
Hi and welcome.
What species and age is Marty?
Is it just the one ear affected? It coud be an infection or a sting/bite, perhaps even a burn (sun?)
Do you keep him inside or out (maybe both)?
Is he active, eating, pooping OK?
Is he showing signs of discomfort/pain?
If you can post a closer picture of his ear and pics of his enclosure and uvb and heat sources they may give a better idea of anything that could cause this.
Sorry for all the questions but the more details the easier it will be for members to advise.
Maybe @zovik @ZenHerper @Yvonne G or @Tom can help
Mart is 2 years old and a Russian Tortoise
both his chins are red so are around his ear area
he is both tank and outside
he was eating some of his peppers earlier and he urinated
can i give you a call to tell you more about this?
 

simpsonsfan1990

New Member
Joined
Jun 11, 2021
Messages
18
Location (City and/or State)
brooklyn
Hi and welcome.
What species and age is Marty?
Is it just the one ear affected? It coud be an infection or a sting/bite, perhaps even a burn (sun?)
Do you keep him inside or out (maybe both)?
Is he active, eating, pooping OK?
Is he showing signs of discomfort/pain?
If you can post a closer picture of his ear and pics of his enclosure and uvb and heat sources they may give a better idea of anything that could cause this.
Sorry for all the questions but the more details the easier it will be for members to advise.
Maybe @zovik @ZenHerper @Yvonne G or @Tom can help
 

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wellington

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Not sure about tote red but his care and habitat must be greatly improved ASAP!
An adult Russian needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure both inside and out. That tiny aquarium no substrate is not good at all.
His eyes look sunken in too me in the last pics.
Give him a warm water soak for about an 1/2 hour too an hour keeping him warm the whole time.
Also get working on a much better home and care
@Yvonne G might be able to help with what's going on with the red.
 

simpsonsfan1990

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Not sure about tote red but his care and habitat must be greatly improved ASAP!
An adult Russian needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure both inside and out. That tiny aquarium no substrate is not good at all.
His eyes look sunken in too me in the last pics.
Give him a warm water soak for about an 1/2 hour too an hour keeping him warm the whole time.
Also get working on a much better home and care
@Yvonne G might be able to help with what's going on with the red.
it doesn't look like an abscess right?
 

simpsonsfan1990

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Joined
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Location (City and/or State)
brooklyn
Not sure about tote red but his care and habitat must be greatly improved ASAP!
An adult Russian needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure both inside and out. That tiny aquarium no substrate is not good at all.
His eyes look sunken in too me in the last pics.
Give him a warm water soak for about an 1/2 hour too an hour keeping him warm the whole time.
Also get working on a much better home and care
@Yvonne G might be able to help with what's going on with the red.
please tell me he doesnt have an abcess
 

wellington

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Thank you for reassuring me. Im just so nervous for my little man
Until Yvonne answers, keep a close eye on it. It may just have been from him getting his head stuck between something he should have but got out of it okay. It could be something else developing. For now it looks just red. Don't freak but keep eye on it.
 

MichaelL

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Sometimes if they move their forearms too much the scales can rub the skin and cause it to become raw and pinkish. Not sure if that's what happened here, but yours doesn't look like it is too bad of a problem- should be fine. Doesn't look like an abscess.
 

simpsonsfan1990

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Until Yvonne answers, keep a close eye on it. It may just have been from him getting his head stuck between something he should hav
Sometimes if they move their forearms too much the scales can rub the skin and cause it to become raw and pinkish. Not sure if that's what happened here, but yours doesn't look like it is too bad of a problem- should be fine. Doesn't look like an abscess.
im taking him to petco tomorrow to meet with a reptile specialist. I just pray it's not an abcess
e but got out of it okay. It could be something else developing. For now it looks just red. Don't freak but keep eye on it
 

Lyn W

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As already stated you need to make quite a few changes to your tort's care to improve his health and well being, and this is the most up to date caresheet you'll find anywhere which will help you with all aspects - diet, humidity, temps substrate etc.
Read that carefully and come back and ask as many questions as you like.

Russians like deep moist substrate to dig in - coco coir wih a layer of orchid bark on top is often recommended but see the above link for suggestions. and the min size of enclosure should be at least 4 x 8 feet but the bigger the better. They are good climbers and burrowers so you need to make sure you cap the top edges to stop him escaping. Some members have used Lifetime raised garden bed kits successfully but . (if you use the search facilty for Lifetime RGBs and find a thread by Elohi you'll see what she did for a smaller tort you may need 2 kits to get the size and depth you need)
www.thetortoisetable.org.uk is a good guide to tort safe foods - mainly UK plant based but you'll be familar with many of them.
I don't know what the redness is caused by - hopefully some of the people I'll re tag will.
@zovik @ZenHerper @Yvonne G or @Tom
 

ZenHerper

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Not abscesses. But it is not possible to see from photos on the internet what's going on with the skin. Does he rub his legs on his face? Does he stick his head somewhere too tight outside while he's trying to escape? Is he trying to burrow under the water dish since there is nowhere for him to do this properly? Is he eating a nutrient-poor diet for this species that is weakening his blood vessels? Is he being burned by an incorrect heating bulb? I can't say.

But it can be said that your enclosure is not healthful or appropriate.

Read the care sheet linked in post #13. Do NOT take advice from the pet store employees about what to use. They work for a corporation and don't usually have a successful collection of reptile pets of their own. Pet store chains often sell full-grown Russian tortoises captured from the wild, not tiny captive-bred babies. But store employees can't tell the difference between a hatchling, a juvenile, and an adult animal. They cannot judge the sex of a full-grown animal. Don't trust them to tell you how to care for it.

Post follow-up questions about the care sheet on this thread - opening multiple threads is confusing and forum members will have to ask you for all the same information over and over again.

Reptiles need very specific environmental features...once they've been set up properly, it is a delight to watch them thrive!
 

simpsonsfan1990

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Everyone here's a close up today of Marty's face and yes he does rub has face often
 

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wellington

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Looks better today. I think he either rubbed it or stuck it in a tight area. Just keep an eye on him and maybe try to catch him scratching his face an see if its red when he's done or if you can find where he might be sticking his head that's causing it.
More importantly, please get his enclosure improved.
 

ZenHerper

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Everyone here's a close up today of Marty's face and yes he does rub has face often
You have to change his living conditions. 100%.

Click here and follow the care information:

 

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