RF Dry Skin

[Torts]

We rescued our RF "Ruby" from a family who thought that she was a box turtle. Needless to say she was in poor condition when we picked her up. The one thing that we are not able to correct for some reason is her dry skin on her head and front legs. I have tried everything from daily spritzing in her enclosure, daily soaking, etc. She is in cypress mulch and she drinks a lot of water, nothing seems to work. Do you have any suggestions to correct this problem?

 

[Jacqui]

How long have you had her? I am asking because it may take some time to turn her skin around and some of the skin shedding is natural too.

Some questions I would ask are: What are the actual humidity levels in her enclosure? Does she have a humid hide? Is her diet good? Seems unrelated, but diet also works on skin quality.

 

[Torts]

I have had her since November. She has had a lot of other health problems related to diet and parasites which now have been corrected so this may also have impacted her skin. I will double check her humidity level in her enclosure.

 

[Itort]

Does she have a water source large enough for her soak in voluntarily? Mine spend time just soaking on their own. Also a partial cover on enclosure helps.

 

[Torts]

She does have water readily available to soak and she does soak regularly. Thanks for the tips.

 

[Itort]

Well, as Jacqui says give her time. I've rescued a Central American woodturtle and an Asian box turtle with similar skin problems and it took 6 to 9 months for improvement. One thing that will help is in her outside enclosure is give her a mud hole, RFs are like pigs in that they love it.

 

[Candy]

We used to keep Dale in mulch, but then somebody on here suggested moss. It seems to hold the humidity better for Dale and he loves to hide in it and I also keep a wet towel over part of the top of his enclosure to keep humidity up. Candy

 

[Madkins007]

I'd use a multi-pronged attack...

- Free-will soaking and drinking. If it does not freely drink and soak, I'd 'help' it once a week or so depending on the severity of the dryness.
- Substrate that supports humidity. Sphagnum moss holds it well, and releases it slowly. I think it should be in all Red-foot/forest species soil mixes.
- Good habitat humidity, without wetness. A humid room, a warm-vapor humidifier, etc. In Vinke's book "South American Tortoises", he suggests a heavy water container with a heater to get the water temp to a few degrees above the habitat temps. I have seen people use heavy pots with bubblers and heaters to provide great humidity (although I think a warm vapor humidifier is safer and cheaper to run.)
- Humid hiding place. At least one hiding place should be at about 95% humidity. The above book suggests sewing some moss in a linen bag, soaking it, and hanging it in a hiding box- which seems like a great way to be humid without the tortoise being wet.
- Wet foods. Nice, fresh greens; succulants; some juicy fruit; soaked pellets, etc. as part of the total diet.

Tortoise skin is thick and pretty waterproof. It will take a while for the outer layers to rehydrate.

 

[Torts]

I will try to add some Sphagnum moss to her enclosure. Thanks for the tips!