TortoiseMomAiden

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Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
ireland
Hi! I just joined this forum because its helped me a lot and i need its help again. I recently got a tortoise (which i was told was a Herman but im pretty sure he's a horse field. Hes five months old and i haven't had a problem until now. 2 days ago i noticed these two little red dots on his shell (as pictured bellow) and im a bit worried. He hasn't been dropped, nothing was dropped on him,hes still eating and as friendly as ever, I thought he had a healthy shell but now im not sure. There is a chance it was dye from his little hut (also in a photo) but when i tried to wash it off i couldn't, so it would mean a lot to me if you could give me some advice on what to do. I only want to go to a vet in case of emergencies because the only vet i know for sure is a vet who handles reptiles is wayyy too far away so i can only go to one that has dealt with a few of them, i really dont know if hes good or not. please help!
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Kasia

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Aug 15, 2015
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807
Location (City and/or State)
Poland
Did you try scrubbing them out? Water and loads of scrubbing... Is he active? Does he move/eat/drink/walk around? How does your enclosure look like? What are your temps/heat source? If it does not come off and he is letargic/ not active/ not eating/ sleeps/ all the time it is a bad singh. Emergency Vet visit is needed. Blood stains on a uppper or lower shell indicates sepsis. If that is the case quick help is needed. All the best for you both.
 

TortoiseMomAiden

New Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
ireland
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Did you try scrubbing them out? Water and loads of scrubbing... Is he active? Does he move/eat/drink/walk around? How does your enclosure look like? What are your temps/heat source? If it does not come off and he is letargic/ not active/ not eating/ sleeps/ all the time it is a bad singh. Emergency Vet visit is needed. Blood stains on a uppper or lower shell indicates sepsis. If that is the case quick help is needed. All the best for you both.
I did i tried using a cotton pad and a cotton bud and even lightly scratched at it but it wont come off for me. Hes pretty active (how he normally is which isnt as active as another tortoise i minded for a few days but still relatively active) hes not drinking a huge amount except when im washing him, hes eating like normal (he likes courgette and rocket leaves) he seems happy and friendly as always. his basking area is 28 degrees Celsius or 82 degrees Fahrenheit. and heres a picture of his enclosure (he was actually eating when i took the picture just now)
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Melis

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Aug 9, 2017
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Is there any possibility that the color could have rubbed off onto him from that red hide? I hope it's something silly like that, and nothing serious
 

Kasia

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Joined
Aug 15, 2015
Messages
807
Location (City and/or State)
Poland
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I did i tried using a cotton pad and a cotton bud and even lightly scratched at it but it wont come off for me. Hes pretty active (how he normally is which isnt as active as another tortoise i minded for a few days but still relatively active) hes not drinking a huge amount except when im washing him, hes eating like normal (he likes courgette and rocket leaves) he seems happy and friendly as always. his basking area is 28 degrees Celsius or 82 degrees Fahrenheit. and heres a picture of his enclosure (he was actually eating when i took the picture just now)
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Hi except the basking temp and couragette it looks fine. For diet, lightning and enclosure tips firstly read care sheet for russian tortoise at the top of the russian tort- section of this forum. It probably is a the red paint from his home or a result of climbing mishap. I would check if the paint is safe for animals. If there isnt any info on what it is get rid of both hides in your enclosure. Use plain wooden ones, upside down plastic bowls ect. Have an eye on him for 2-3 days, if his up and running its nothing. Like Cheryl wrote more heat is needed. Give us an update:)
 

TortoiseMomAiden

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Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
ireland
82 degrees is way low for basking. It should be 95 to 100 degrees. I don’t have the translation into Celsius at this point. But I think it is around 40 c. I could be wrong on that though.
its 32 degrees and yeah id have his enclosure at that heat and higher on warm days but i live in ireland and its freezing so im just waiting for the warmer temperature to kick in
 

TortoiseMomAiden

New Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
ireland
Hi except the basking temp and couragette it looks fine. For diet, lightning and enclosure tips firstly read care sheet for russian tortoise at the top of the russian tort- section of this forum. It probably is a the red paint from his home or a result of climbing mishap. I would check if the paint is safe for animals. If there isnt any info on what it is get rid of both hides in your enclosure. Use plain wooden ones, upside down plastic bowls ect. Have an eye on him for 2-3 days, if his up and running its nothing. Like Cheryl wrote more heat is needed. Give us an update:)
hi thanks for the replies! im going to try get the temperature a bit higher (although its not too far off but Irish weather doesn't always agree with me). I'll try cool it down on the courgette which i really only had him on because i got him in winter and didn't get a chance to start growing my leaves and veggies (which funny enough i planted yesterday) so their will be a better diet for him very soon :<3::tort: I actually didn't know horsefieds were the same as Russian tortoises so thank you very much for bringing that to my attention! now it will be easier to get information for my little Henry:) the plastic around the red hut said that the paint was fine but if its making marks on my tort im a bit suspicious. But still thank you both for your replies im so glad you dont think theres anything wrong with my Henry. I'll be keeping an eye on him and will update soon. thanks again:<3:
 

TortoiseMomAiden

New Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
ireland
Is there any possibility that the color could have rubbed off onto him from that red hide? I hope it's something silly like that, and nothing serious
my family said the same thing just because of how brightly coloured the spots are. I also thought that was the case but i wanted to get advice from more experienced owners just in case ;)
 

Cheryl Hills

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Youngstown, Ohio
its 32 degrees and yeah id have his enclosure at that heat and higher on warm days but i live in ireland and its freezing so im just waiting for the warmer temperature to kick in
Just to let you know. Torts have to have the higher basking temp to digest their food. If the temps are to low, they will stop eating and can also get sick. We have a Russian care sheet in the spiciest spacific area. Don’t know if you have read these or not. It has all the info on temps, substrate ,and such.
 

TortoiseMomAiden

New Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2018
Messages
6
Location (City and/or State)
ireland
Just to let you know. Torts have to have the higher basking temp to digest their food. If the temps are to low, they will stop eating and can also get sick. We have a Russian care sheet in the spiciest spacific area. Don’t know if you have read these or not. It has all the info on temps, substrate ,and such.
Yup as I write this hes at 34 degrees.
 

Bee62

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Nov 13, 2016
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Location (City and/or State)
Germany
Yup as I write this hes at 34 degrees.
Yup and as Cheryl wrote is 34 C too low. Basking spot must be 40 C no matter what your climate or temps or weather in Ireland is.
Use a higher wattage basking bulb and you will get 40 C. If you don`t your tortoise will get sick. Undigested food can cause a sepsis that is shown with red spots on the plastron.
 
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