shell

[tootsietort611]

Hi this is Tootsie our russian tort, still learning how to get his house and lighting correct but here is a post I put on another forum but might be good to post here ;

Hi, here are some pictures of his shell, not sure if you can see it very well. It is not very pronounced but his bedding gets stuck in the little crevice so we are worried that might cause problems. I am not sure of the skeletal makeup of torts, if there is a bony part under the outer shell, maybe you can tell me if he needs to see a vet etc. He has not been getting the right UVB light in the process of getting the tube one had a coil type on him and think it was too far away to be beneficial HE is in a rab bit type enclosure ( we were told to use this) but the lights are higher above him might switch to a 55 gallon tote so we can get the lights closer to him.

oh it also seems to be a bit soft underneath this crevice..
Kind of afraid to pick him up near this area as I said its not as hard as the rest of his shell, I dont think it was there when I got him. Advice appreciated :shy:

 

[biochemnerd808]

This almost looks like a wound, and especially if the tissue is soft around there, I would take all substrate out (you can save it in a bin after letting it dry, and then use it later), and putting newspaper in, just until this heals. That way substrate doesn't get in, causing infection.

You will want to give frequent soaks, and possibly apply some triple antibiotic ointment to this area. Sniff at it - does it smell? Sometimes if there is an infection, it will smell gross. Can you see any tissue underneath? If your tortoise is wild-caught, it may have gotten hurt in transit.

Tortoises are really hardy, and can survive a lot, usually heal, and live a normal life, but it is important to keep this area clean and prevent infection.

Hi this is Tootsie our russian tort, still learning how to get his house and lighting correct but here is a post I put on another forum but might be good to post here ;

Hi, here are some pictures of his shell, not sure if you can see it very well. It is not very pronounced but his bedding gets stuck in the little crevice so we are worried that might cause problems. I am not sure of the skeletal makeup of torts, if there is a bony part under the outer shell, maybe you can tell me if he needs to see a vet etc. He has not been getting the right UVB light in the process of getting the tube one had a coil type on him and think it was too far away to be beneficial HE is in a rab bit type enclosure ( we were told to use this) but the lights are higher above him might switch to a 55 gallon tote so we can get the lights closer to him.

oh it also seems to be a bit soft underneath this crevice..
Kind of afraid to pick him up near this area as I said its not as hard as the rest of his shell, I dont think it was there when I got him. Advice appreciated :shy:

 

[tootsietort611]

Hi and thanks for the message, It dosent seem to have any smell and today it looks a bit better however I think there may b e a small peice of bedding in the crevice ( not entirely sure of this it may be just him) I am afraid to try to remove them. I can give him more soakings and try to get more water on that area to see if it comes out. Still using the aspen bedding but might switch to organic dirt mixture later. I will go buy the antibiotic cream and apply that. Should it be covered and if so how would I do that? I will remove the bedding if necessary but he will freak out LOL He did take a couple of " spills" off his log! He sometimes climbs up on the log and then he cant get down unless I help him! so he has tumbled down a bit before. also should I take him to a vet for a fecal test or anything else? He has not seen a vet and I dotn know if the pet store did anything to check his overall health. Tootsie is my daughters tort and she has him away at college but the small town does have a vet that will see reptiles, have to save the money for that first. The softness under on the shell is not as bad as it was awhile ago just trying to be careful when she handles him. thanks!

 

[tootsietort611]

RE: shell more pics and getting worse!

Hi, you can see the pics of the small split above, now a tiny piece chipped off underneath and now you can see in these pics that is is getting wider and is seems to be in danger of chipping or splitting further! very worried about this, have a vet appt on Thursday but they are not specialized in reptiles (since its a small town animal hospital ) Will take longer to get to a specialist if needed. Any advice or what is causing this ?? Thought about trying to cover it with something but don't even know how to do that, waiting for a new UVB light to arrive in the mail, the coil one he has now is too far from him plus heard it can hurt there eyes. If it matters, he has been quite rowdy and trying to climb out of his cage and such, so he could be injuring himself in the process! I take him out and he goes nutty, also he is " flashing" quite a bit but I have no idea why lol Any thoughts are appreciated thanks!!