What is this? What am i doing wrong here?

[crazy_carrie]

Omg, I have been putting the athletes foot cream on him 2x a day! This is getting worse! Now there is black lines showing up on his top shell and the little white circles are now on his top shell with theblack lines! Please help my baby, help me help him

 

[tortturt]

@Littleredfootbigredheart

 

[Tim Carlisle]

Looks like normal growth lines to me unless I'm not looking at them right.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Omg, I have been putting the athletes foot cream on him 2x a day! This is getting worse! Now there is black lines showing up on his top shell and the little white circles are now on his top shell with theblack lines! Please help my baby, help me help him

The black lines you’re referring to just look like some of his shell pattern starting to develop, I don’t see anything of concern with his carapace.

As for the plastron, absolutely no concerns there either! You’d be fine stopping the cream, those squiggly white circles you’re seeing are actually very normal, and very common to see on young growing tortoises, there’s no 100% sure definitive answer on why they happen, but there are some theories, some believe it to be calcium working its way through new keratin. If you do a search on the forum for “squiggles” or “white squiggles” you’ll see endless examples of this.

Hope this helps put your mind at rest

 

[crazy_carrie]

Ok!! Thank u so much! I was freaked out!! But now I feel so much better! I thought the absolute worst case scenario!! Phew!! Thank u I appreciate you thank u

 

[crazy_carrie]

Looks like normal growth lines to me unless I'm not looking at them right.

Ok! Thank u! I was so scared

 

[crazy_carrie]

The black lines you’re referring to just look like some of his shell pattern starting to develop, I don’t see anything of concern with his carapace.

As for the plastron, absolutely no concerns there either! You’d be fine stopping the cream, those squiggly white circles you’re seeing are actually very normal, and very common to see on young growing tortoises, there’s no 100% sure definitive answer on why they happen, but there are some theories, some believe it to be calcium working its way through new keratin. If you do a search on the forum for “squiggles” or “white squiggles” you’ll see endless examples of this.

Hope this helps put your mind at rest

Do you think his shell looks good?!? Like is there any sign of pyramiding? I've had his humidity at 90 and his temp right at 85... and i soak him in the morning and at night! Lol I take better care of him then myself I think lol

 

[crazy_carrie]

Do you think his shell looks good?!? Like is there any sign of pyramiding? I've had his humidity at 90 and his temp right at 85... and i soak him in the morning and at night! Lol I take better care of him then myself I think lol

And Wyoming is super dry! Is soaking 2x a day too much

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Ok!! Thank u so much! I was freaked out!! But now I feel so much better! I thought the absolute worst case scenario!! Phew!! Thank u I appreciate you thank u

Bless you, no problem at all!as a red foot owner I can totally relate to that worry over a potential fungal infection lol, but I can assure you this isn’t that

If you ever have any concerns in that regard, please always feel free to post pics. Many people with red foots do commonly run into a mild fugal infection at some point, it won’t be the end of the world if it happens as they’re very easy to treat.

But honestly, as long as your top layer of substrate is staying dry in most areas(which naturally it does under the heat) and you’re keeping it clean, you’re all good. It’s those lower layers of substrate that should be staying nice and moist. We’ve never had any sign of a fungal infection with our red foot in all the years of having her, and her humidity ranges 80-100 in there.

Do you think his shell looks good?!? Like is there any sign of pyramiding? I've had his humidity at 90 and his temp right at 85... and i soak him in the morning and at night! Lol I take better care of him then myself I think lol

Honestly to me he’s looking pretty great!

If I zoom in closely on the first pic, there might be the smallest bit forming, it’s kind of tricky to tell because he’s still so small, he hasn’t grown a lot to form much, so I’m hesitant to say at this stage, maybe it’s from a drier start. Your humidity sounds fine nowI have heard red foots can be a bit of a tricky species to grow perfectly smooth in captivity if you haven’t raised one before(and sometimes even when everything is seemingly perfect), if there is potentially some mild pyramiding, I wouldn’t be too harsh on yourself, it’s often cosmetic. You seem a very attentive person, so I’m sure you’ll notice if there’s pyramiding forming to the significance of needing to look at overall husbandry&humidity maintenance. He looks a nice healthy baby to me

Instead of the two soaks, I’d just give one longer soak of the evening, no need to worry about doing multiple a day

 

[Tom]

This tortoise does not have shell rot. The little white circles and squiggly lines are a sign of good health and growth.

There is some pyramiding. Are you using a basking lamp? If yes, this species doesn't need it. I'd remove it.

With 85% ambient humidity, it is not necessary to soak twice a day. Not harmful either. Once a day is enough. Twice a day if fine if you want to.

What substrate are you using? Orchid bark is best. The lower layers can be kept damp for humidity in the enclosure, while the upper layers remain more dry to prevent shell rot.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

This tortoise does not have shell rot. The little white circles and squiggly lines are a sign of good health and growth.

There is some pyramiding. Are you using a basking lamp? If yes, this species doesn't need it. I'd remove it.

With 85% ambient humidity, it is not necessary to soak twice a day. Not harmful either. Once a day is enough. Twice a day if fine if you want to.

What substrate are you using? Orchid bark is best. The lower layers can be kept damp for humidity in the enclosure, while the upper layers remain more dry to prevent shell rot.

They’re using ceramic heating and have orchid bark

 

[KarenSoCal]

Everything you would ever want to know about squiggly lines and their progression through the years here on TFO.

Whats happened to my shell ?! (white squiggly lines)

Only recently I have noticed these little swirls on his shell get worse, they were very faint before but now it has raised concern. He's still his chirpy self, I just hope this isnt a bad sign :( Love, Esme and Torty x

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