Damaged shell

Meg & Mac

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Hermann Tortoise, DAMAGED SHELL. I have a Hermann tortoise, we think he's somewhere between 60 and 70 years old. I've just noticed some new damage to his shell and I don't know what to do. As far as I can understand it will heal itself with regular cleaning from us. Im not sure whether to take him to the vets, he's his usual cherpy active self. I've attached a pic.
Any help greatly appreciated. Had anyone had any luck with any home made natural antiseptics?
 

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JasperFossils

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go to a vet. the flesh between the inner and outer shell looks infected. flesh needs to be removed and then waxed?
 

Meg & Mac

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Also you need to figure out how it happened so it doesn't happen again.
Dog or wild animal like a rat chew on him?
Yeah this one of the next things to do fur sure. We're gonna set up a wildlife camera in his outdoor enclosure for a few days, whilst we keep him indoors.

Thanks for your help and suggestion Jasper fossils.

I'll order some antibiotic cream this evening. Is there any brands you'd recommend?


Hopefully Yvonne will have some wisdom too. I've attached some more pictures incase.

Thanks all for the help. Meg
 

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zovick

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Yeah this one of the next things to do fur sure. We're gonna set up a wildlife camera in his outdoor enclosure for a few days, whilst we keep him indoors.

Thanks for your help and suggestion Jasper fossils.

I'll order some antibiotic cream this evening. Is there any brands you'd recommend?


Hopefully Yvonne will have some wisdom too. I've attached some more pictures incase.

Thanks all for the help. Meg
You can relax. That is very old damage. It did not just happen recently. It is possible a bit of the keratin layer recently came off so you noticed it, but the underlying bone is healed and there is really no need to do anything at this point. If you notice, the same thing is occurring on the opposite side.

That being said, a good vet may be able to clean up the borders so the keratin layer can heal over the bone again, but I believe the treatment of these areas to be elective rather than emergency in nature.
 

Meg & Mac

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Yeah, that's what I thought too. That actually doesn't look fresh to me. It's nothing to worry about.
Aww thank you, that's such a relief. Phew. There were pre existing scars around his head area from being attacked by a dog previous to him coming to live with us, so what you're saying makes royaly sense.

Thankyou sooooo much, you've really put my mind at ease.
Meg
 

Meg & Mac

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You can relax. That is very old damage. It did not just happen recently. It is possible a bit of the keratin layer recently came off so you noticed it, but the underlying bone is healed and there is really no need to do anything at this point. If you notice, the same thing is occurring on the opposite side.

That being said, a good vet may be able to clean up the borders so the keratin layer can heal over the bone again, but I believe the treatment of these areas to be elective rather than emergency in nature.
You superstar, Thankyou so so much for your advice and sharing your knowledge. I really appreciate it. Like I said in my reply to Yvonne, what you've said makes total sense, he did have pre existing scars on his shell around his head.

He'll be grateful, now he doesn't need to fussed over, he hates it!

Thankyou
Meg
 

zolasmum

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He looks fantastic - we have a Hermanns tortoise too, but he is only 22, so it is very interesting to see what Zola may look like eventually. What is his name?
Best wishes from Angie (in Devon)
 
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