Dry head & feet

[shelbyxoxo]

My Red foot Tortoises head and feet are dry... i do not know what this means??

 

[Redstrike]

Mine get this way occasionally too, even in high humidity - especially during winter months. How often are you soaking them? What is your humidity running at?

One option is to put a scent free lotion on the really dry areas. You could even use small amounts of olive oil, just be sure you don't get it in their eyes (use a very small amount). I usually use Bag Balm, but conservative amounts any scent-free moisturizing cream would probably be okay.

 

[JoesMum]

RE: Dry head & feet

All reptiles shed skin. Snakes do it all in one go. Tortoises do it in bits and can look anything from frayed to downright tatty.

The old skin rubs off and you don't need to worry about it; it's entirely normal.

Unfortunately once one bit looks nice and tidy, there's dry old skin being shed elsewhere... You just have to accept it. Lotions are pointless.

Don't be tempted to pick or pull at the old skin, you might make your tort sore.

 

[Weda737]

While I do agree with JoesMum above, it really seems like mine gets pretty itchy during these particularly dry periods, so I brush on a little vitamin E oil during soaking time. I use a soft toothbrush and just brush it all over, seems to feel good to my sulcata, he pokes his head out and leans in to the soft scratchy brush, brushing off the loose stuff while moisturizing the rest.