turtleneck_boy
New Member
Hello! Im new to the forum, I have an adult female Russian tortoise that’s about 12-14 years old, we’ve had her 2 years. We live in the Midwest and it’s starting to get really dry in our house, my tortoise’s humidity remains around 40% during the day.
Since it has been getting dryer, I’ve been soaking my tortoise everyday starting last week for about 10 minutes for her to rehydrate, and after soaking, she sits on a Kane brand Reptile heat mat (with cloth barrier between her and the mat) with a temp around 73 degrees for several hours chilling with the family in our living room. I dry her manually immediately after soaking but she also drys while sitting on the heat mat.
Today after her soak I noticed a fishy smell from her back, she had peed just before this, but the smell wasn’t just around her cloaca, but her entire backside. No smell was coming from her front. She’s had an issue in the past with an infection around her backside skin that had a similar smell (her shell is deformed in the back and scoops up, we take extra care to ensure it remains clean where her skin would otherwise be covered by shell), but when inspecting her carefully I found no redness, inflammation, or open wounds.
My mom thinks my tortoise may be ‘too damp’ and developing a yeast infection, but haven’t found any information on this being possible for Russians? I was going to wait another day or two to see if the smell goes away, since it just started about 1-2 hours ago today. My tortoise remains active.
Is my tortoise’s humidity adequate and she doesn’t need soaks as often or do you think this smell could be related to something else? More than anything can she develop a yeast infection from being ‘damp’? Please let me know any tips or suggestions!
Since it has been getting dryer, I’ve been soaking my tortoise everyday starting last week for about 10 minutes for her to rehydrate, and after soaking, she sits on a Kane brand Reptile heat mat (with cloth barrier between her and the mat) with a temp around 73 degrees for several hours chilling with the family in our living room. I dry her manually immediately after soaking but she also drys while sitting on the heat mat.
Today after her soak I noticed a fishy smell from her back, she had peed just before this, but the smell wasn’t just around her cloaca, but her entire backside. No smell was coming from her front. She’s had an issue in the past with an infection around her backside skin that had a similar smell (her shell is deformed in the back and scoops up, we take extra care to ensure it remains clean where her skin would otherwise be covered by shell), but when inspecting her carefully I found no redness, inflammation, or open wounds.
My mom thinks my tortoise may be ‘too damp’ and developing a yeast infection, but haven’t found any information on this being possible for Russians? I was going to wait another day or two to see if the smell goes away, since it just started about 1-2 hours ago today. My tortoise remains active.
Is my tortoise’s humidity adequate and she doesn’t need soaks as often or do you think this smell could be related to something else? More than anything can she develop a yeast infection from being ‘damp’? Please let me know any tips or suggestions!