White patches, wrinkles, shell health. (Eastern Hermann's Tortoise)

[alh_683]

Hi all! I just got my first baby tortoise and I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right for them. When we got him over the weekend, they mentioned his belly being wrinkly and to give warm soaks daily which I have been. I've been using reptisafe in the water that I soak him in as well. He eats like no other and is very active! I noticed a couple of white spots on his shell. I believe it may be calcium buildup as they do (mostly) disappear when I put water on it. Should I use a soft toothbrush to get rid of the spots or leave them as they are? There also seems to be a few chips on the very back of the shell. I will attach pictures for you guys! thanks in advance for the advice!

 

[zovick]

Hi all! I just got my first baby tortoise and I just want to make sure I'm doing everything right for them. When we got him over the weekend, they mentioned his belly being wrinkly and to give warm soaks daily which I have been. I've been using reptisafe in the water that I soak him in as well. He eats like no other and is very active! I noticed a couple of white spots on his shell. I believe it may be calcium buildup as they do (mostly) disappear when I put water on it. Should I use a soft toothbrush to get rid of the spots or leave them as they are? There also seems to be a few chips on the very back of the shell. I will attach pictures for you guys! thanks in advance for the advice!View attachment 311676View attachment 311677View attachment 311678

The "chipped" areas on the back of the shell may be congenital defects, IE areas which just didn't fully form during the tortoise's development in the egg. Or they may be areas where the shell has been too dry for a long time which has interfered with the proper growth.

The white areas are probably calcium and other minerals left on the shell when water evaporates off the shell. You can get them off with white vinegar and a soft toothbrush. If you have hard water, these will reappear over time and you will need to remove them periodically.

 

[KarenSoCal]

After you get the minerals off the shell, you'll want to prevent this happening again.

Get a spray bottle and fill it with distilled, RO, or rain water. After his daily soak, spritz him with the spray bottle water, rinsing the tap water off his shell. This will keep the hard water stains from forming.

 

[alh_683]

Hi again, I've tried the warm white vinegar and toothbrush method and they don't seem to be going away. Ive also changed all the water i give him to only distilled or non-tap water as well. They disappear after i put water on it still but you can still barely see some of the patches. I'll attach pics of him in a bath after i put water on the shell. Should I worry about this still or just leave it be? Should I get antifungal cream and apply it just in case or take him to the vet? His belly also looks worse in my opinion but i could just be paranoid haha. thank you guys for the advice.

 

[KarenSoCal]

Well, a little athlete's foot cream won't hurt him, so give it a try. Pick a particular spot and treat it. If it doesn't improve, you'll know it isn't shell rot for sure.

He needs the minerals in water, just not dried on his shell. He should drink and soak in tap water, and dampen his greens with tap. After the soak, then spritz him off good with the distilled or rainwater.