Small green patches

[Juniper619]

Hi everyone. I noticed small green patches on the skin of my tortoise. It’s appearing on all 4 limbs.
I started treating spots with a soft toothbrush and a saltwater solution. It has only been a day so I don’t have results yet.
I noticed the patches after a few days of humidity in my area. Is the cause?
I keep his living area and drinking dish clean. Other than that he is active and eating on time everyday.
Does anyone any suggestions on how to prevent this from happening again?

 

[Yvonne G]

Please read this thread all the way to the end. Tom has a suggestion in the very last post:

Yellow fungus in baby sulcata

Hi all, It's been a tough week since Ube started acting sick. We went to a different vet today to get a better diagnosis, thanks to the reco of a family friend who's owned torts for a long time. Sadly, the vet’s diagnosis is yellow fungus, which could’ve come from many sources. I reckon it was...

www.tortoiseforum.org

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Can you post pictures?

Since you mentioned green spots, instead of yellow spots or yellow bumps, I'm wondering whether this is consistent with what we've been seeing, or something else.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Take a look at these threads:

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/new-tortoise-mom.185463/

https://www.tortoiseforum.org/threads/update-on-bumps-on-baby-sulcata.185092/

If it's consistent with what's been showing up lately, it's bacterial, not fungal. If that's what it is, it is contagious (isolate from other tortoises). Treatment requires a visit to the veterinarian for appropriate antibiotics. Testing may be required to identify the bacteria so they prescribe the right antibiotics for the job.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Still to be determined if this one is related, but I'm tagging @mastershake and @Tom for awareness, just in case. OP is located in Las Vegas.

 

[Juniper619]

 

[Juniper619]

 

[Juniper619]

 

[Toddrickfl1]

So is this considered a "Tortoise Pandemic" yet?

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Thanks for posting pictures. Very much appreciated.

Hrm... I see why you said green... It might or might not be what we've been seeing on the Forum lately, but I think you may need a reptile veterinarian to sort it out.

While I'm asking questions, though... Do you mind telling us where you got your little one from, and how long ago?

 

[Pastel Tortie]

So is this considered a "Tortoise Pandemic" yet?

I don't think I'd call it a pandemic, per se.
Epizootic was the term that came to mind.

 

[Toddrickfl1]

I don't think I'd call it a pandemic, per se.
Epizootic was the term that came to mind.

Credit: Tortstork IG

 

[Juniper619]

Thanks for posting pictures. Very much appreciated.

Hrm... I see why you said green... It might or might not be what we've been seeing on the Forum lately, but I think you may need a reptile veterinarian to sort it out.

While I'm asking questions, though... Do you mind telling us where you got your little one from, and how long ago?

I don’t mind at all .... he was walking through my backyard. At the time I think he was about 3 or 4 months old. It’s around March/April. I have him some water and a piece of kale. He started showing up more and more. He attacked by ants in May so we decided to make him an outdoor enclosure. I noticed the patches about a week ago and thought it was a dry skin. Then yesterday I noticed they were spreading. So I scrubbed the infected areas with salt water yesterday and today. I’ll give it a few more days to see if it works before I go to the vet. Thank you all for the replies.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Forgive me for taking so long to ask the really dumb question I should have asked in the beginning...

What kind of tortoise is it?

 

[Tom]

I don't see any problem there. Just looks like normal tortoise skin to me. What am I missing?

 

[Tom]

Forgive me for taking so long to ask the really dumb question I should have asked in the beginning...

What kind of tortoise is it?

Desert tortoise. Gopherus agassizii.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Desert tortoise. Gopherus agassizii.

Different species. (Different genus.) Different issues.

Note: I'm excluding this thread from the summary regarding yellow bumps in baby sulcatas.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

I don't see any problem there. Just looks like normal tortoise skin to me. What am I missing?

I think I see what the OP is talking about in the pictures, but I'm having trouble trying to articulate. It's kind of subtle (if that's indeed what I'm supposed to be seeing).

In the first picture, it's the greenish splotch on the front side of the front leg, right along the top of where the brown scales end.

Same with the third picture, although there may also be a similar splotch slightly higher on the leg (less than a centimeter above the other one).

In the second picture, the greenish splotchy is towards the front of leg, above where the brown scales end above the toes, but sort of in line with or just above where the brown scales end on the back of the leg.

I don't know if that makes sense or not. I hope it's clearer than mud. The outlines of the splotches are not clearly defined.

 

[Juniper619]

Yes he’s a Desert Tortoise . Tom mentioned he doesn’t see anything wrong. I’ll Take better pics in the morning so I have better lighting.
He is my first tortoise so when I saw the spots I was very concerned. Hopefully it’s nothing.

 

[Pastel Tortie]

Yes he’s a Desert Tortoise . Tom mentioned he doesn’t see anything wrong. I’ll Take better pics in the morning so I have better lighting.
He is my first tortoise so when I saw the spots I was very concerned. Hopefully it’s nothing.

Did I get it right in my last post (above) on where I'm seeing the spots/splotches? It's okay to tell me if I need to get my eyes examined.