Please help! Worried owner! (shell bruise??)

[Yasmin_]

Hello,

One of my tortoises have a bit of red colour appearing on it's shell, is there something wrong? The shell and under part is also really, really soft, what can I do to solve that problem? She also has a dent on her shell on the bottom right hand side, it's quite noticeable but I'm not sure whether you can see it on the picture. I thought it was from her falling over all the time and having to be rescued, but is there some other reason? My other tortoise is doing fine!

Do I need to take her to the vets or can I do something about this? What am I doing wrong? Any criticisms are appreciated! Thankyou!

 

[tortoiseowner101]

Please help! Worried owner!

Hi, do you know what caused that dent ? And where in the world do you live ?

 

[wellington]

RE: Please help! Worried owner!

If you can get her into some natural sunlight, it will help a lot with the soft shell. What are you using for UVB and how often are you giving calcium?

 

[milkandsam]

RE: Please help! Worried owner!

How old is your tort?

 

[Yasmin_]

Please help! Worried owner!

My tortoise is around 8 months old, and I have a UV light as recommended by the breeder shining onto one side of the tortoise. I give the calcium supplement daily over the food. I'm not sure what caused the dent, I guessed it might have been her falling over so frequently but it may not be. I live in the UK and there's never good weather until July for like a month or two, and when it does get sunny I do plan to take them outside. A friend of mine said that it may be due to taking in too much phosphorus, could this be a reason? If so, what could I do to avoid that?

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Shining onto one side of the tortoise table **