Baby Redfoot shell rot?

itzHuntr · Mar 16, 2026

First time Tortoise Owner here, I got this baby a few months ago and it's now about 7 months old now. I've been really cautious and wanting Rocky to get used to their environment and not freak them out but clearly I should've been less cautious and more concerned cause it seems Rocky has shell rot and I really want to know what I can do to help Rocky.
His enclosure stays about 80 degrees Fahrenheit or above, humidity I try to keep above 80 at all times but sometimes it drops down to 70. Rocky's diet has been Romaine Lettuce, Red Leaf Lettuce, Collard Greens, Kale, Yellow Squash, Zucchini, and for fruits I throw in blueberries, strawberries, mango, papaya, along with a small amount of calcium supplement by Exo Terra on Mondays and Thursdays, Rocky also has a cuttlebone in the enclosure they nibble on from time to time. I give Rocky soaking baths each day for about 15 minutes.
Please let me know what I can do to make sure my baby gets healthy.

mojo_1 · Mar 16, 2026

Use athletes foot cream on it daily. After daily soak dry area then apply. In a week or two if it's not looking better then switch to antibiotic cream
Keep the top layer of substrate dry. They need high humidity but must not have top layer of substrate wet.

itzHuntr · Mar 16, 2026

mojo_1 said:
Use athletes foot cream on it daily. After daily soak dry area then apply. In a week or two if it's not looking better then switch to antibiotic cream
Keep the top layer of substrate dry. They need high humidity but must not have top layer of substrate wet.

Do you have any cream recommendations? Unsure if a strong acting one is good or not.

zovick · Mar 16, 2026

itzHuntr said:
Do you have any cream recommendations? Unsure if a strong acting one is good or not.

Any over-the-counter athlete's foot cream will be fine. Lotrimin is one which is used successfully by many people.

mojo_1 · Mar 16, 2026

what @zovick said.

Littleredfootbigredheart · Mar 16, 2026

Have you been spraying to keep up with your humidity by any chance? Top layer of substrate should be staying dry in most areas under the heat, It’s those lower layers of substrate that should be staying nice and moist. Spraying will only be a temporary boost, and we want to avoid the top layer being constantly damp, you can give it a little spray now and then to stop it getting dusty, or simply do overturns of your substrate(which I always recommend anyway)but definitely let it dry out.

Luckily 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, if yours is fluctuating between 70-80, I’m thinking the lower layers might not be staying as damp as needed and the focus has been the top, which can unfortunately lead to fugal issues. You don’t want sopping wet of course, but in a good closed set up, a thick damp substrate layer, with drier on top, is all you need to maintain a higher humidity. To achieve this pour a little bit of lukewarm water into the corners and mix until you feel its damp(go a tiny bit at a time so you aren’t adding too much), press it down with your hands. You should only have to do this every 7-10 days if your set up is closed enough.

If you’d say this is pretty much how you have be maintaining your humidity, these guys are just particularly prone to fungal infections, I think a lot of red foot keepers run into this issue at one point or another, don’t feel bad, you’ve noticed it before it’s got severe and they’re easy to treat

COmtnLady · Mar 16, 2026

80F is low for any baby, but especially for a RedFoot. Red Foots are a tropical species that need a minimum of 84F and 84% humidity for their entire lives. Bring your temp up to 85-90F. All hatchlings need warm and humid for the first two to three years of life.

What is the humidity reading? It also needs to be in the mid-to-high eighties. 24/7.
The way a lot of us here do it is to have the lowest inch or so of the substrate quite damp, while keeping the surface layer dry. The water will evaporate up through and create the humidity you need - provided you have a sealed-top enclosure to hold it all in. Without the enclosure being closed all your heat and humidity dissipate into the larger world and do your tortoise no good. To increase the humidity you just pour water into the corners, a cup or two at a time (its easier to add more than to remove excess). Spraying can cause respiratory issues because the droplets are too large for your tortoise to breathe through, and it causes an evaporative cooling cycle. Focus on getting the humidity up instead.

Using the cheapest athlete's foot cream you can find at a dollar store will clear up the fungal infection you are worried about.

TammyJ · Mar 17, 2026

Just a word about the diet.
He should be getting animal protein like boiled eggs, steamed chicken, sardines in water, regularly about twice per week.
Because he is a Redfoot tortoise.

itzHuntr · Mar 17, 2026

Littleredfootbigredheart said:
Have you been spraying to keep up with your humidity by any chance? Top layer of substrate should be staying dry in most areas under the heat, It’s those lower layers of substrate that should be staying nice and moist. Spraying will only be a temporary boost, and we want to avoid the top layer being constantly damp, you can give it a little spray now and then to stop it getting dusty, or simply do overturns of your substrate(which I always recommend anyway)but definitely let it dry out.

Luckily 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, if yours is fluctuating between 70-80, I’m thinking the lower layers might not be staying as damp as needed and the focus has been the top, which can unfortunately lead to fugal issues. You don’t want sopping wet of course, but in a good closed set up, a thick damp substrate layer, with drier on top, is all you need to maintain a higher humidity. To achieve this pour a little bit of lukewarm water into the corners and mix until you feel its damp(go a tiny bit at a time so you aren’t adding too much), press it down with your hands. You should only have to do this every 7-10 days if your set up is closed enough.

If you’d say this is pretty much how you have be maintaining your humidity, these guys are just particularly prone to fungal infections, I think a lot of red foot keepers run into this issue at one point or another, don’t feel bad, you’ve noticed it before it’s got severe and they’re easy to treat

I usually spread water along the edges of the enclosure making the top soil of the edges wet and Rocky has been using the hides closest to the corners which is probably how this has happened, it stays dry on the top for the most part with yes the soil underneath being wet, so I'll just have to be more careful where I spread water and spray the enclosure more. Thank you all!

mojo_1 · Mar 17, 2026

itzHuntr said:
I usually spread water along the edges of the enclosure making the top soil of the edges wet and Rocky has been using the hides closest to the corners which is probably how this has happened, it stays dry on the top for the most part with yes the soil underneath being wet, so I'll just have to be more careful where I spread water and spray the enclosure more. Thank you all!

You shouldn't have to spray the enclosure at all. I use only reptibark orchid bark in Mojo's enclosure and rotate it every 4 days and add water as needed. Humidity stays 83% to 97%

itzHuntr · Mar 17, 2026

mojo_1 said:
You shouldn't have to spray the enclosure at all. I use only reptibark orchid bark in Mojo's enclosure and rotate it every 4 days and add water as needed. Humidity stays 83% to 97%

When you say "rotate" do you mean mixing around or swapping to another substrate?

mojo_1 · Mar 17, 2026

itzHuntr said:
When you say "rotate" do you mean mixing around or swapping to another substrate?

Top to bottom. That way the lower layer gets dried out too.

Littleredfootbigredheart · Mar 17, 2026

itzHuntr said:
When you say "rotate" do you mean mixing around or swapping to another substrate?

You’re essentially giving it a good mix so all the damper bottom stuff comes to the top

Riles15 · Mar 17, 2026

TammyJ said:
Just a word about the diet.
He should be getting animal protein like boiled eggs, steamed chicken, sardines in water, regularly about twice per week.
Because he is a

Freeze dried crickets are also a good protein source. My Cherryhead loves them.

Baby Redfoot shell rot?

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