Fix tortoise shell color

sweetjune

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How to fix my sulcata shell? I came to visit my sulcata after leave my tortoise on my cousin house. But after 3 months I saw the shell become this white. Theres no sign of shell rot and its healthy. The only thing bothering me was the shell. I dont know what he did to my sulcata. Is it permanent damage on shell?
 

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zovick

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How to fix my sulcata shell? I came to visit my sulcata after leave my tortoise on my cousin house. But after 3 months I saw the shell become this white. Theres no sign of shell rot and its healthy. The only thing bothering me was the shell. I dont know what he did to my sulcata. Is it permanent damage on shell?
It looks like shell rot to me even though it is in an unusual area of the shell for that to occur. You might need to treat it with athlete's foot cream for several days to make it go away.

Is it on the bottom shell also?
 

COmtnLady

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Please tell us about how your tortoise has been kept, Does it have a soaking pool, and what its been eating.

Calm down and be glad you had a place for your tortoise to be while you couldn't take care of it. (Tell us that story, too. Why did you have to have your tort not be with you?)

It is important to know where your tortoise is located because environmental factors, temperatures and humidity, and so much else can affect any answers we can give you. The answers for someone in Lima, Puru, are quite different than the answers in Lima, Ohio.




.
 

sweetjune

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It looks like shell rot to me even though it is in an unusual area of the shell for that to occur. You might need to treat it with athlete's foot cream for several days to make it go away.

Is it on the bottom shell also?
Its bottom shell also has whitish color but its still hard and not soft maybe its whitish color because of walking on rough concrete floor causing abrasive on shell . Im pretty sure it was caused by concrete floor. And i just asked my cousin yesterday and he said there was lots of moss on my tortoise shell thats why he use brush and reptile soap to clean those moss and leaving white color on shell. There was alot of rain on our city this year. He said clearing those moss much better and shell color should be gradually return after clearing mosses
 

sweetjune

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Please tell us about how your tortoise has been kept, Does it have a soaking pool, and what its been eating.

Calm down and be glad you had a place for your tortoise to be while you couldn't take care of it. (Tell us that story, too. Why did you have to have your tort not be with you?)

It is important to know where your tortoise is located because environmental factors, temperatures and humidity, and so much else can affect any answers we can give you. The answers for someone in Lima, Puru, are quite different than the answers in Lima, Ohio.




.
Its living on rough concrete floor, where it has soaking pool. It was eating water spinach supplemented with calcium powder, multivitamin powder, stonebreaker oil to prevent stone bladder. Its enclosure cleaned everyday including where it sleeps, thats why its wet. My cousin said much easier to clean if enclosure has concrete floor. My tortoise and his tortoise been eating very well everyday just those whitish mark on shell bothering me. He said those moss leaving white color on shell
 

COmtnLady

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WHERE on the planet is this enclosure located?

We don't need your address, just need to have some idea what town/country you are located in. If you are in a place where a vague state-name, or large country-name with lots of different environments won't explain the climate and such, we need you to be more specific (like where I live it is more important to know the altitude than the name of the state or town. It changes radically here for every thousand feet of altitude.) SO - we are not being intrusive, we need to know WHERE you are located to know what you are dealing with so that we can give you best answers.


_________________________________________________________


I am not entirely certain, but it seems like I read that concrete leaches chemicals for a while. That could be affecting your tortoise's shell. Is the enclosure painted/sealed? It could be changing the pH in the soaking pool and that is affecting the shell... Though I think Zovick may have figured out the actual problem.
 
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COmtnLady

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P.S. -

Our friend Google said:

Yes, concrete leaches chemicals into water. When water interacts with concrete, it dissolves the calcium compounds within the cement, causing the water to become highly alkaline with a pH often exceeding 12. [1, 2]

What is Leached
  • Calcium Hydroxide (Lime): The primary substance that leaches, resulting in a high-pH, basic effluent.
  • Trace Heavy Metals: Depending on the materials used, concrete can release trace amounts of metals like arsenic, lead, chromium, and zinc.
  • Chemical Admixtures: Superplasticizers and other additives used in concrete preparation can migrate into water.
  • Fly Ash: Older or specific types of concrete blocks made with industrial fly ash can introduce additional contaminants. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]


Environmental Impact
  • Toxicity to Aquatic Life: The highly alkaline runoff can harm fish, plants, and other aquatic life.
  • Water Quality: Concrete washout water or runoff can significantly impair the quality of local streams, rivers, and groundwater. [1, 2]

How to Mitigate Leaching
  • Curing and Washing: New concrete should be fully cured (usually 28 days) and thoroughly washed to remove surface lime before coming into contact with sensitive environments like ponds. [1, 2, 3, 4]
  • Sealing: Applying non-toxic, safe pond or water-grade sealers can prevent water from contacting the concrete, stopping chemical leaching.
  • Neutralization: Acidic treatments (e.g., vinegar soaks) can be used to neutralize surface alkalinity before introducing concrete features to aquatic environments. [1, 2, 3]
For more detailed information regarding construction and site regulations on concrete runoff, consult the Environmental Protection Agency stormwater guidelines.
 

The_Four_Toed_Edward

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Do you have photos of what it looked like when there was moss on the shell? What about a photo of the bottom of the shell?

Have you tried scrubbing the shell with a soft brush and water?
 

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