# Shell Fungus Question



## jcreazy88 (May 17, 2013)

So I noticed some white stuff on my sulcata's shell a couple of days ago and read up on it and Im pretty sure it is shell fungus. I went ahead and followed what was done on this thread http://www.tortoiseforum.org/thread-31057.html to get him cleaned up. There are some before and after pictures below. Sorry I didnt think to clean him on the first two pics, hes allowed to dig and always gets dirt on his shell but you can still see where the fungus was. I scrubbed him with some water and a tooth brush to remove what i could then applied lotrimin antifungal. The last two pictures are from today after I clean his shell up to get it ready for the cream to be reapplied. On the third picture you can still see some white but im wondering if this is actually the lotrimin just drying him out in that area. The second picture is of the other side where he had a bit of fungus as well but taken right after i cleaned it and hadn't really givin it anytime to dry up. You can see where the keratin has been eaten away a bit but it doesn't seem to bad, Im not a pro though. 

So my questions are does the lotrimin tend to dry areas of the shell out so it looks like the third picture or is that fungus that just hasnt scrubbed off yet and does anything look serious enough for him to be taken to a vet, also how long is it recommended to keep applying the medicine?

Thanks


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## EricIvins (May 17, 2013)

The third picture is what it should look like after treatment. Your seeing Keratin underlayment where the fungus has eaten away the first few layers...


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## Yvonne G (May 17, 2013)

Boy...you guys are sure seeing something that I'm not seeing. I would have said it was just some staining on the shell...from hard water, or maybe he kicked up some dried urates or something. I don't see an eroded keratin layer...only a couple of spots along the edge where it has been chipped away from bumping into something.


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