515miker
New Member
Hello all, I'm a little upset to make this my second post but my newly acquired Russian tortoise Hodor is showing shell rot in a few spots on his underside.
Backstory: I have had him for about a month now. I found him on a local classifieds site from a girl who could no longer keep him due to the dogs in her house. He came with two lamps (heat/UVB), and in an aquarium with reptile bark substrate. While doing research I came to realize aquariums are not the best enclosures for these tortoises. I've had plans to get him into a better enclosure but while devising plans for his new home it appears he has somehow developed shell rot.
I'm also worried he is showing some on the top of his shell as well.
I just noticed this yesterday while giving him a soak. I must admit, I thought I inspected his shell when I acquired him and I am almost certain there were no signs of anything like this. I feel horrible that I did this to him, or contributed to the problem at the very least. I did not know shell rot could accelerate so quickly. I've been feeding him romaine lettuce, spring mix, kale, timothy hay.. occasionally spraying his food with a vitamin supplement. I keep fresh water available at all times and soak him once or twice a week. I believe I went wrong with the substrate and the humidity. The hydrometer read around 30-40% but I disregarded that thinking he would be fine given he is a desert tortoise. Obviously this lead to a terrible outcome.
I've scheduled a vet appointment but I wasn't able to get one until Monday. I've been doing research of home remedies for shell rot and ran across this: http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/shellrot.html
I haven't tried any specific remedy yet because I noticed that site is catered to turtles. I soaked him today and brushed his shell with a mild soap to clean out the wounds. I'm letting him sleep in a cardboard box tonight because I heard air is good for the rot. Tomorrow I will finish up his new enclosure which is made of an old dresser. I will use top soil and washed play sand in a 50/50 mix for his substrate.
My main question here is this: Is there anything I can do to begin healing the shell rot?
Would a vet visit be absolutely necessary at this point? Please don't interpret this question as me doubting the seriousness of this issue. I am not putting him back in that aquarium and will keep a closer eye on him from now on.
If there is any advice any of you could provide it would be greatly appreciated. I tried searching for shell rot here on the forum but I found nothing but what appeared to be concerned owners wanting opinions on whether or not their tortoise had shell rot. I'm no reptile expert but I am pretty sure this is shell rot, now I just need to know how to fix it.
Please help! Thanks for your time and sorry for the long read.
-Mike
Backstory: I have had him for about a month now. I found him on a local classifieds site from a girl who could no longer keep him due to the dogs in her house. He came with two lamps (heat/UVB), and in an aquarium with reptile bark substrate. While doing research I came to realize aquariums are not the best enclosures for these tortoises. I've had plans to get him into a better enclosure but while devising plans for his new home it appears he has somehow developed shell rot.
I'm also worried he is showing some on the top of his shell as well.
I just noticed this yesterday while giving him a soak. I must admit, I thought I inspected his shell when I acquired him and I am almost certain there were no signs of anything like this. I feel horrible that I did this to him, or contributed to the problem at the very least. I did not know shell rot could accelerate so quickly. I've been feeding him romaine lettuce, spring mix, kale, timothy hay.. occasionally spraying his food with a vitamin supplement. I keep fresh water available at all times and soak him once or twice a week. I believe I went wrong with the substrate and the humidity. The hydrometer read around 30-40% but I disregarded that thinking he would be fine given he is a desert tortoise. Obviously this lead to a terrible outcome.
I've scheduled a vet appointment but I wasn't able to get one until Monday. I've been doing research of home remedies for shell rot and ran across this: http://www.turtlepuddle.org/health/shellrot.html
I haven't tried any specific remedy yet because I noticed that site is catered to turtles. I soaked him today and brushed his shell with a mild soap to clean out the wounds. I'm letting him sleep in a cardboard box tonight because I heard air is good for the rot. Tomorrow I will finish up his new enclosure which is made of an old dresser. I will use top soil and washed play sand in a 50/50 mix for his substrate.
My main question here is this: Is there anything I can do to begin healing the shell rot?
Would a vet visit be absolutely necessary at this point? Please don't interpret this question as me doubting the seriousness of this issue. I am not putting him back in that aquarium and will keep a closer eye on him from now on.
If there is any advice any of you could provide it would be greatly appreciated. I tried searching for shell rot here on the forum but I found nothing but what appeared to be concerned owners wanting opinions on whether or not their tortoise had shell rot. I'm no reptile expert but I am pretty sure this is shell rot, now I just need to know how to fix it.
Please help! Thanks for your time and sorry for the long read.
-Mike