15 month old sulcata with bumpy patches on shell and white spots on plastron

[Newsully2020]

I have a 15 month old sulcata with white patches on its belly and bumpy spots on its shell. Looks like maybe fungus? I just cleaned his enclosure (he had this before changing out everything) and have cypress in most of the enclosure with coco coir on one side for higher humidity and in the hide. Basking spot at 100 and remaining portion no lower than 80. Humidity in the 60-70% and sometimes higher. Closed chamber setup. Substrate has been kept moist but may have been too wet at times. Soaks for about 20 minutes a day after being in outdoor enclosure for a few hours. He is eating some still. Feeding grass, spinach, collards, spring mix at times. Rose petals from fertilizer free roses in my yard. Been rubbing betadine on his shell and brushing with toothbrush the past 2 days. Anything else I can do without a vet visit? Will get pictures posted shortly.

 

[Newsully2020]

Pictures

 

[Yvonne G]

That looks like the start of shell rot, which usually occurs when the tortoise is forced to live in an area loaded with urine and feces soaked substrate.

Scrub him with a soft brush and a mild soap, like Ivory. Rinse well and dry him, then rub athlete's foot cream into all the spots.

Look at your husbandry and make sure his enclosure is clean. You might start over with all new substrate.
It would do him a world of good to get some real sunshine on that shell.

 

[Newsully2020]

I just changed out everything today while he is outside soaking up some sun. I'm going to get cream as soon as I get off as well. Will this cause him to be less active? I know they sleep a good bit anyways but he is a little less active now too.

 

[Yvonne G]

I just changed out everything today while he is outside soaking up some sun. I'm going to get cream as soon as I get off as well. Will this cause him to be less active? I know they sleep a good bit anyways but he is a little less active now too.

I noticed his eyes are a little droopy indicating he doesn't feel good. Warm him up to about 85°F and keep it like that day and night for a week or so. And soak him daily for a half hour.

 

[Newsully2020]

Okay thank you. I do have the thermostat set on 88 now

 

[Newsully2020]

Can someone tell me if the white on its legs and mouth are normal?

 

[ZenHerper]

Can someone tell me if the white on its legs and mouth are normal?

Looks like acid burn - from overly-wet dirty or decaying substrate.

Tortoises cannot sit 24 hours a day in water, or in soaked earth the way that turtles can. The substrate should be wet enough to increase the ambient humidity, but the top 1/4-1/2 inch should be dry.

This is why closed chambers are recommended...they hold humidity in the air with much less water poured into the substrate.

 

[Newsully2020]

When I cleaned out it's enclosure today, I let it dry out a lot first. About 3/4 of it is dried cypress and the other 1/4 is damp coco coir. Hopefully that helps then. Can I put the same athlete foots cream on his legs?

 

[ZenHerper]

I would not...they sometimes rub their eyes with the legs. Keeping cleaner substrate should be sufficient, if that is the cause.

Another thing to consider with skin that is losing scales and tone: too much vitamin A. Tortoises naturally eat a sufficient amount in their diet, so any supplements with vitamin A added can overdose them.

He is big enough to spend more time outdoors in a heavily shaded enclosure (~5-8 hours)...more movement in an airier environment may really help.

 

[Newsully2020]

Didn't think about him rubbing his legs on his eyes. Thank you for all the information. he's going to be spending a lot more time outside now until it gets cold.

 

[mastershake]

most likely the areas on the legs are where the skin shed and the new skin is not stained yet from the dirt / substrate. and as zenherper said what supplementation are you giving him?

 

[Newsully2020]

I didn't think about that. He has an appt Monday morning to be checked out