Ashy head

Yodathetortoise98

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Hello everyone,

I have a 6 Month baby red foot tortoise, his head seems to be ashy and seems to be shedding off a few scales. Do I have anything to be worried about?
 

Wasa77

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Can you post pictures and give us some details about your set up please? I don’t think anyone can offer concrete help you if you can’t help us understand.
 

Tom

The Dog Trainer
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Hello everyone,

I have a 6 Month baby red foot tortoise, his head seems to be ashy and seems to be shedding off a few scales. Do I have anything to be worried about?
Yes. More info on your set up, substrate, heating and lighting, temps and humidity will help sort out what might be the issue. Pics help too.
 

Yodathetortoise98

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Brampton
So it's a terrarium for now but it's a really big one 46 by 18 by 18. My red foot tortoise is a small little guy right now just about three inches. I have a 50 watt basking light, 6400 V uvb florescent tube light and a black night light to keep it warm at night because I live in Canada and it can get cold sometimes at night. The temperature ranges from 23° to 30°C, so around 80°F. Humidity is a little bit of a problem it's ranges from 80°F to 60°F but it has hit 50° if not misted, which I usually do. My substrate is the coco husk wood chips and the coco husk dirt. I also have a basking spot, two wooden hides, and 5 plants in his home.
 

Zoeclare

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I'm not sure what you mean by ashy head without pictures, but your temperatures aren't great for a redfoot. They don't really need a basking spot or a hot and cool side, you want the whole enclosure to be 84-86f. The substrate you have sounds good youcan just tip some water in it to raise that humidity up, that could be what is causing the dryness 50% is way way too low. I tip some warm water into the substrate and mix it up so its damp but not sopping, then let the top layer dry off so your tort isn't sitting on damp substrate, you can do this while your tort is enjoying his soak.
 

Toddrickfl1

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Your humidity is not high enough.
 

Yodathetortoise98

New Member
Joined
Sep 29, 2020
Messages
16
Location (City and/or State)
Brampton
I'm not sure what you mean by ashy head without pictures, but your temperatures aren't great for a redfoot. They don't really need a basking spot or a hot and cool side, you want the whole enclosure to be 84-86f. The substrate you have sounds good youcan just tip some water in it to raise that humidity up, that could be what is causing the dryness 50% is way way too low. I tip some warm water into the substrate and mix it up so its damp but not sopping, then let the top layer dry off so your tort isn't sitting on damp substrate, you can do this while your tort is enjoying his soak.
The temperature is around 82° to 86°F during the day and at night it drops to 72°F, I used Celcius at first and I converted it to Fahrenheit for a better understanding. But thanks for the humidity tip, that's where I think the problem is as well but it's fixable.
 
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