Greetings from Oregon!! Assistance please! I need info on Greek Torts! Possible shell rot? Newbie

[Carleatshandsandflowers]

Hey, Tort lovers!
My name is Ben and I have an 11-year-old Greek Tortoise that was suddenly gifted to me. I'm super excited to learn how to nurture and care for him ASAP. I've had him for quite a while now, doing the best I can but I really desperately need some guidance! I didn't get a chance to do much research before I got him, and trying to find accurate info online by myself has been having adverse reactions to his health. He seems too thin, and I'm not sure exactly how big of an enclosure he needs. I know the one he was gifted in is too small, and is a store-bought tortoise table that's pretty run down. I understand heating and lighting and the correct temp and humidity. I have Coco Coir bedding (coconut dirt, as I call it) about 3-4 inches thick that he seems to like an awful lot. I feed him broad, leafy greens and am aware of which to feed him and which to avoid, and how often to feed him. He always has access to fresh water, but he doesn't really drink enough water and I struggle to keep him hydrated. Also, when I got him gifted to me, the friend had bought from an awful pet store. I've since discovered he was originally wild-caught and shipped here when he was only a few years old. The pet store was forced to close down not long after I received him. I was told that he was a hermann's tortoise, who was housed with several baby Russians in a small glass tank with nothing but a bowl of weird food. He has damage on his feet and is missing several of his claws and toes. The pet store said that his previous owner was neglectful and some of his toes rotted off due to illness. They are looking healthy and healed now, he's just a little handicapped. It seems the vets in my area know absolutely nothing about tortoises. I've been given a lot of misinformation that has not helped this little guy return to health from his first decade on this earth any quicker. I'm REALLY struggling with understanding what to do, and I hear there are some great experts on the topic of tortoise care! Here are some pics of his shell, which looks like it may have a bad case of shell rot?

 

[Yvonne G]

At some point in the DISTANT past, Carl suffered some sort of injury to the back portion of his carapace. The bone over that section died, and was white for a while, but under that dead bone new keratin was growing. Eventually the dead bone popped off, showing the new keratin. What you see is the new keratin. It will never look like the original shell, but it is just as sturdy and healthy. He's fine, but one has to wonder what happened to him in the past to cause this to happen. Because you can also see new keratin along the edges, I'm guessing at one point he was chewed on by a dog.

Since you're not sure what species he is, and I'm not real good at I.D.ing the mediterranean species, I'm sending a shout-out to @HermanniChris to see if he can tell us for sure what species Carl is.

 

[Carleatshandsandflowers]

Hey Yvonne! Thanks so much for your response! I really appreciate your nonjudgemental approach! Glad to hear he's doing ok, and I also appreciate your clear explanation. The vets weren't really telling me much except it's normal and he's fine and it seemed to me as if at least SOMETHING had happened. His blood work is good and He's free of illness, as far as I can tell. It was only the shell that looked like something was up. He's been eating vigorously and pooping healthy, fibrous poops. Normal urate consistency and normal urine. I'll keep up the soaks and healthy meals and a little calcium supplements.this website is a plethora of info. Really enjoying learning all of this