Flaking Shell?

[muffininabox]

Last week, I got a Russian Tortoise from Pets 'N Such in Salt Lake City. He has these flaking bits on his shell and I don't know if this is supposed to happen or if it's a problem. This is my first time owning a tortoise and I'm kind of worried.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

This guy has definitely been wild caught and some wear n tear on their shell is normal. Because the flaking is a little unusual to the general wear n tear I’ve personally seen, I’ll tag these guys to take a look for you @Yvonne G @wellington @Tom

In the meantime, I don’t suppose you’d mind sharing how you’re keeping him? There’s lot of misinformation out there, especially from pet stores, so it’s always good to check in with newer members

What size enclosure does he have?
Is he indoors or outdoors?
If indoors..
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of basking bulb are you using specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
What’s your indoor uv type?
How’s humidity reading?
What kind of substrate?

A photo of the set up would be wonderful! If you’re willing to share! Welcome to the forum!!

 

[wellington]

Well I haven't personally seen this pattern of flaking or much at all, as I only have one Russian. But I have seen pictures and usually it's not quite the same. My guess would be wrong bulbs and low to no humidity.
Correct it's care with a proper enclosure, lights/heat/temps, 30-50% humidity and diet and it should be fine.
Give him a warm soak every other day for a few weeks.

 

[muffininabox]

This guy has definitely been wild caught and some wear n tear on their shell is normal. Because the flaking is a little unusual to the general wear n tear I’ve personally seen, I’ll tag these guys to take a look for you @Yvonne G @wellington @Tom

In the meantime, I don’t suppose you’d mind sharing how you’re keeping him? There’s lot of misinformation out there, especially from pet stores, so it’s always good to check in with newer members

What size enclosure does he have?
Is he indoors or outdoors?
If indoors..
What are your temperatures like? Ie basking temp(directly under the bulb), overall day temps, night temps?
What kind of basking bulb are you using specifically? Packaging photos are good if you have any
What’s your indoor uv type?
How’s humidity reading?
What kind of substrate?

A photo of the set up would be wonderful! If you’re willing to share! Welcome to the forum!!

He's indoors, and I'm still trying to figure everything out since I've only had him for a week, so any advice or feedback would be awesome.
I have a topsoil and sand substrate with cyprus on top. I've been doing some reading on here and it looks like both topsoil and sand might be bad for them, so should I just go full cyprus?
I'm using the Zoo Med spot lamp and it has 75w, with the uv light being 13w.
Humidity has been hard to get up. Without misting anything it's around 20, and after misting it gets to around 40.

 

[wellington]

No sand or top soil. Only coconut coir or orchid/fir bark
Incandescent flood bulb for basking
Tube fluorescent for uvb and ceramic heat emitter for any added heat that might be needed or night heat. 30-50% humidity by dampening substrate
Get digital temp/humidity gauge place at tortoise height, as those disc are not accurate. He needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure.
No spot bulbs, mercury bulbs, halogen bulbs or coil type bulbs.
Sounds like your uvb bulb is either coiled and should not be used if it has a bend in it or if halogen.
He needs a clay saucer for water that is big enough to fit in.
Food should be broad leafy weeds or greens not just pellets.

 

[muffininabox]

No sand or top soil. Only coconut coir or orchid/fir bark
Incandescent flood bulb for basking
Tube fluorescent for uvb and ceramic heat emitter for any added heat that might be needed or night heat. 30-50% humidity by dampening substrate
Get digital temp/humidity gauge place at tortoise height, as those disc are not accurate. He needs a minimum of a 4x8 foot enclosure.
No spot bulbs, mercury bulbs, halogen bulbs or coil type bulbs.
Sounds like your uvb bulb is either coiled and should not be used if it has a bend in it or if halogen.
He needs a clay saucer for water that is big enough to fit in.
Food should be broad leafy weeds or greens not just pellets.

Okay, and how deep should the substrate be?
I have been feeding him greens as well as pellets, but I'm still not sure how to get the right kinds of greens locally. There are a lot of sources saying different things, so do you know what kind of greens work best?
This is all great info, thanks

 

[wellington]

Arugula, escarole, endive, riddichio, spring mix minus most of the spinach. Then you can buy from either tortoisesuplly.com or KapidoloFarms.com dried weed mixes to use a toppers for the greens. This makes the greens much more nutritions.
Also any of the pellets can be added but soak them.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

He's indoors, and I'm still trying to figure everything out since I've only had him for a week, so any advice or feedback would be awesome.
I have a topsoil and sand substrate with cyprus on top. I've been doing some reading on here and it looks like both topsoil and sand might be bad for them, so should I just go full cyprus?
I'm using the Zoo Med spot lamp and it has 75w, with the uv light being 13w.
Humidity has been hard to get up. Without misting anything it's around 20, and after misting it gets to around 40. View attachment 382637View attachment 382636

Thank you for your reply! Yes as wellington says, no sand or top soils, and I’d amend lighting as soon as you’re able, as well as looking into an appropriate sized enclosure, I know indoor space is an issue for a lot of folks and it’s so bad that stores take advantage of this, it’s why those houses are so popular, chain stores and most breeders don’t let on to people how much space they actually need to thrive, it’s all about sales unfortunately

Hopefully you might find this indoor housing thread I made useful, it covers equipment, levels, sizing, appropriately maintaining humidity, substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything and a really handy diet link to check out!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This offers some different enclosure inspiration and includes how people tackle indoor space being an issue

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, probably the most important, this one is really good to familiarise yourself with, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they help!

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Well I haven't personally seen this pattern of flaking or much at all, as I only have one Russian. But I have seen pictures and usually it's not quite the same.

My tortoise came to me with a similar flaking pattern in February. Don't know what the cause is. He was housed on dry sand and bark with an infra red bulb, but most likely also wild caught. His shell has gotten much better with the correct set up and soaking routine. None of the scutes have fully lifted of, but there is this small transparent part at the back of most vertebral and coastal scutes. I believe you could slide a paper underneath it. Here is his shell now:

 

[wellington]

My tortoise came to me with a similar flaking pattern in February. Don't know what the cause is. He was housed on dry sand and bark with an infra red bulb, but most likely also wild caught. His shell has gotten much better with the correct set up and soaking routine. None of the scutes have fully lifted of, but there is this small transparent part at the back of most vertebral and coastal scutes. I believe you could slide a paper underneath it. Here is his shell now:
View attachment 382654

So, hopefully, as I suggested, correct care will correct it.
Your tort is beautiful. My guess with the one scute is because it's broken. Was it always like that or has it broken since you got him?

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

So, hopefully, as I suggested, correct care will correct it.
Your tort is beautiful. My guess with the one scute is because it's broken. Was it always like that or has it broken since you got him?

They have looked like it since I got him. Hence not quite sure what the cause is. I don't know whether good care completely corrects it, but I think it has made his shell a lot healthier overall. I haven't tried coco nut oil, but in OPs photo the shell looks so dry that I think it would be worth a shot.

 

[wellington]

They have looked like it since I got him. Hence not quite sure what the cause is. I don't know whether good care completely corrects it, but I think it has made his shell a lot healthier overall. I haven't tried coco nut oil, but in OPs photo the shell looks so dry that I think it would be worth a shot.

Poor care before you. Wild living may have chipped the scute. Hard to say when not raised from hatching. Nothing to really worry about but something to keep an eye on.

 

[EppsDynasty]

Rub down with Coconut Oil and wait for 25 minutes then wipe off. This will hydrate the Keratin that makes up the shell.