Top of tortoises head

Maro2Bear

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Wow. He really does have his head extended during that eating attack! Since he has his head (and skin) so tightly stretched I’m thinking everything is normal. Their skin & outer most layer is very translucent in “protected” areas, . Make sure you give it some good soaks every few days.

Maybe @zovick has thoughts.
 
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zovick

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Hi all

My tortoise fully extended his neck to have a smell around the garden and I noticed this red patch on the top of his head, is this normal? View attachment 344818
It looks reasonably normal to me from what I can see. The skin looks a bit dry overall, though. Maybe it would benefit from applying some mineral oil to the skin of the neck and the back of the head.

The two rear legs also appear to have a very obvious demarcation between the scales which present on the lower legs and feet and the skin above them. I am not sure if that is a normal condition or not. Are the legs scales rubbing off?

How do the front legs look? I cannot see either of them in this photo.
 

Sarah2020

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He looks very dry. Please ensure min 3 warm water shallow soaks a week for 20/ 40 mins in a high sided container. This is good for dry skin flaking off, drinking, hydration, exercise and they poo and wee. I have 2 containers so when water cools or is dirty I switch to clean water for remIning time. I also advise rubbing coconut oil on the shell to help good shell growth avoid face and eyes. Check heat, light , diet and substrate to ensure optimum environment and welfare.
 

James9811

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He looks very dry. Please ensure min 3 warm water shallow soaks a week for 20/ 40 mins in a high sided container. This is good for dry skin flaking off, drinking, hydration, exercise and they poo and wee. I have 2 containers so when water cools or is dirty I switch to clean water for remIning time. I also advise rubbing coconut oil on the shell to help good shell growth avoid face and eyes. Check heat, light , diet and substrate to ensure optimum environment and welfare.
Hi

He is bathed for 10/15 mins every day without fail, but I did always wonder why he had little bald sort of patches on his legs. Could it be down to anything else?
 

James9811

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He looks very dry. Please ensure min 3 warm water shallow soaks a week for 20/ 40 mins in a high sided container. This is good for dry skin flaking off, drinking, hydration, exercise and they poo and wee. I have 2 containers so when water cools or is dirty I switch to clean water for remIning time. I also advise rubbing coconut oil on the shell to help good shell growth avoid face and eyes. Check heat, light , diet and substrate to ensure optimum environment and welfare.
Also, when you say “very dry” is that in relation to skin on the legs?
 

James9811

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Hi all

My tortoise fully extended his neck to have a smell around the garden and I noticed this red patch on the top of his head, is this normal? View attachment 344818
@Yvonne G would I be able to get your thoughts on this? The patches with no skin have been brought to my attention and I’m worried sick now. Like I say we soak him for 10/15 mins a day and spray his enclosure down multiple times a day. I followed the care sheet on here too during setup for temperatures etc. so worried:(
 

Cathie G

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Well... my thought is that real sunshine could be in order also. A few hours here and there. Sapphire gets a suntan in the spring, summer, and fall is what I call it. All that pale skin and shell growth rings becomes darker. His eyelids become blueish.🤗
 

James9811

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Well... my thought is that real sunshine could be in order also. A few hours here and there. Sapphire gets a suntan in the spring, summer, and fall is what I call it. All that pale skin and shell growth rings becomes darker. His eyelids become blueish.🤗
Good idea! He gets a little bit every now and then but I’m in Northern England so sunshine is rather rare, we should be good to go next month! I feel so rubbish. I can’t believe I didn’t spot the little bald patches on his legs, they seem so obvious now 😞
 

Cathie G

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Good idea! He gets a little bit every now and then but I’m in Northern England so sunshine is rather rare, we should be good to go next month! I feel so rubbish. I can’t believe I didn’t spot the little bald patches on his legs, they seem so obvious now 😞
It's hard for me to see that because of the device I'm on. Don't beat yourself up just learn. The posts can help you figure out exactly what is going on. Maybe even the shell has some ruff places that are rubbing
 

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