# Redfoot Shell Issue



## tjarksd (Jan 20, 2015)

I recently (about a month ago) took in a female Redfoot tortoise. My prior keeping experience has been with Russians. The Redfoot has a couple of dry spots on her shell. She came to me this way... The spots do not seem to be getting worse...but they don't seem to be getting better either. The spots are firm to the touch and small pieces flake off...almost like it's shedding. I've had some issues keeping her enclosure at 80% humidity, but it is usually above 60% and her diet is some fruit, mostly greens, and a calcium supplement once a week or so. I also mist her and the enclosure down well in the morning and evening (cypress mulch) and she is soaked almost daily. She's VERY active, a good eater, and self-soaks often in a large casserole dish I keep half filled with water in her enclosure. Are these dry spots normal, or something I need to be concerned with? If I can treat them...any suggestions would be appreciated.


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## crimson_lotus (Jan 20, 2015)

Her face looks super dry, and are those two scutes on the nose like a yellowfoot? 

What is her enclosure like, would you be able to post a picture? Is it a closed chamber?


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## Yvonne G (Jan 20, 2015)

Those are scrape-type injuries. The white you see is exposed bone. It will never look any different from how it looks now. MAYBE, eventually, new keratin MIGHT grow UNDER that white, dead spot, then the white will pop off, but if it happens, it will take a very long time - years.


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## tjarksd (Jan 20, 2015)

Thanks. I'm at work so I don't have a picture of her enclosure to post. Basically it's a large plastic Christmas tree tub (50 gallon) that have I have a plastic cover over 3/4 of it to keep the humidity up. The other 1/4 is screened in and setup as a basking area with a heat emitter and a UVB bulb. I also run a warm moist air humidifier in the room. These were pictures taken right after I got her. They were the best pictures I had one my phone, as far as the angle, to show the areas I was concerned with. The dryness has gotten better...and of course she looks better after misting.


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## tjarksd (Jan 20, 2015)

crimson_lotus. I was told she was a Redfoot, but I've been questioning whether she's a Yellowfoot myself. I've seen pictures of female Redfoots that don't have a lot of prevalent color, but I wasn't aware there was a scute difference between the two. I'll have to look that up and see if I can verify it.


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## tjarksd (Jan 20, 2015)

Here's a couple more recent pictures. They just don't show the area of the shell I was concerned with.






Rebekah and her "sister" Kai (my female feline rescue with polydactyl toes).


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## tjarksd (Jan 20, 2015)

And thanks for the tip. She does appear to be a Yellowfoot and not a Redfoot. 

http://www.sunshineserpents.com/Turtles and Tortoises/Yellowfoot Tortoise.htm


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## crimson_lotus (Jan 20, 2015)

Yellowfoots are a bit different in care, meaning they are more temperature sensitive, they are more sensitive to lights, and they need humidity moreso than Redfoots do. I think the only nutritional difference in their diet would be protein, but I'm not positive on that.

http://www.tortoiselibrary.com/species-information-2/chelonoidis/

This link is a great source of info.


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## crimson_lotus (Jan 20, 2015)

What a great picture of your tortoise and cat, it's so cute!


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## stojanovski92113 (Jan 20, 2015)

That tortoise is gorgeous!!! It does appear to look like a yellowfoot...LUCKY You! Yes Crimson-lotus is right on the care of yellowfoots, they are similar but different from Redfoots as many individuals stated on the forum.


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## russian/sulcata/tortoise (Jan 20, 2015)

does she have free roam in the house? does she have her own enclosure?


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## naturalman91 (Jan 20, 2015)

that's a nice yellowfoot it looks like she was raised pretty dang smoothly


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## tjarksd (Jan 21, 2015)

She has her own enclosure. I let her free roam some for exercise and occasionally when I feed her. I'm not sure I could stand having to keep the humidity in my entire apartment at the 80% or so mark. 



russian/sulcata/tortoise said:


> does she have free roam in the house? does she have her own enclosure?


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## tjarksd (Jan 21, 2015)

Thanks.  My Russians are pretty smooth too. No pyramiding whatsoever. I try to keep the humidity at the right levels and I use an occasional calcium supplement, but very little protein.



naturalman91 said:


> that's a nice yellowfoot it looks like she was raised pretty dang smoothly


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