Hello fellow tort admirers

matt perl

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Apr 22, 2014
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My names Matt
I live in ottawa Ontario Canada
This past week I saw an advertisement for torts and I simply couldn't refuse
I've wanted one for as long as I can remember.
The deal was almost unbelievable so I couldn't pass up the opportunity to finally own my own pet so I jumped on it
The guy had three a sulcata , a red foot, and a cherry head
All about a month old
He wanted a third of the "normal" price
Really old gross greens in the in closure and there was no visible water.
So I was skeptical of course
I took one look at the cherry head red footed tort and had to have it
I named him Zero
And I've had him a few days now.
I have done a lot of research and feel like I have made educated decisions regarding substrate and diet and such. I work in the restaurant industry so I have taken home several fruits and vegetables to try out what he will enjoy eating.
My problem is I'm worried about a possible shell rot situation and am worried
I bought a children's tooth brush and some anti septic as well as some fungal soap that I found in the foot section of the pharmacy
I'm crossing my fingers hoping I made the right call
I was looking for some advise from fellow tort lovers
I will post a couple pics and anyone with some input it would be much appreciated
ImageUploadedByTortForum1398217198.505942.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1398217210.788122.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1398217222.338339.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1398217244.474698.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1398217276.288294.jpg
 

Ashes

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Welcome!!! I couldn't resist my red foot either - just got him about a month ago. Somebody will answer your question soon... I haven't had to deal with shell rot yet, but it's a big concern because of the way we have to keep the enclosures. I think they recommend betadine? There are many threads on here about it. If I find one before someone answers, I'll post a link. :) again, welcome!! There's lots to learn here! ;)
 

Ashes

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Or you could search "shell rot" and it should pull up all the threads. Good luck!
 

matt perl

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Apr 22, 2014
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I read up on most of the threads earlier today
And it seems to he a wide variety of "shell rot"
Some are just fungus and can be cleaned up and others are way more serious
I'm just hoping I'm over reacting and it's nothing.


I'm glad there are these threads and the ap to go to
I'm looking forward to meeting more people.
 

Ashes

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I overreact about everything when it comes to my little guy. And you're talking about what's on top of the shell, right? I didn't see anything hat made me think "shell rot" on the plastron (again, though, I'm definitely no expert!). Lol.
 

matt perl

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Apr 22, 2014
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Yeah I'm just concerned with what's on top of his shell
I took a tooth brush to it and it didn't come off so I wasnt sure what to think
I'm just worried cuz my living environment is obviously completely different than his previous one
I even have a basil potted plant in there vs the no water and gross greens.
And than in terms of moisture
I've heard the red Foots need almost 70% moisture in some cases
And I keep mine at 50-60 and and I find myself spraying down the terrarium and hoping I'm just not over doing it
I was gonna buy the exo fogger or some kind of humidifier but I don't want to go on overkill.
I've heard a couple horror stories of over moistening the substrate that can effect the red foot
 

Ashes

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Humidity for a red foot needs to be closer to 85. I try to keep mine at that as much as possible. It's hard to accomplish, but it's needed. I also soak my little guy daily for at least 20 minutes in warm water. I have an automatic mister in his enclosure, but I did kinda flood his cage a little and turned it down (gotta learn by making mistakes). Now if I mist it myself twice a day with the automatic one going off every 2 hours, I can keep it about 80% humidity. I keep a little more moss in mine to hold the humidity better. A lot of people like he humidifiers, though. Here's how the one here is set up:
ImageUploadedByTortForum1398219367.222778.jpg
And actually I replaced that log with a plastic flower pot because the log was molding - and I took the corner water dish out and replaced it with a shallow dish because he flipped over in it. :/

Question - what's on the other side of that rock hill on the right? It looks like it drops down? Or is there a hill on the other side as well?
 

Ashes

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And I keep the ambient temp steady at 81-84 degrees with the basking temp around 100 degrees (which is a little warmer than I want - I'd like it closer to 95 degrees)...
 

Ashes

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Here is a wonderful care sheet for red foots. At the very bottom there is information on shell rot treatment. Or go to the red foot/yellow foot section on this forum and one of the first 5 posts is about shell rot.

http://turtletary.com/redfootcare.htm
 

bouaboua

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Welcome Matt!!! Good to have you here.
 

matt perl

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Apr 22, 2014
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So I scrubbed Zero with the tooth brush and I'm thinking I may need to put him in my seperate terrarium with no substrate until my tank dries up a bit. His plaston has changed drastically in the last few days
ImageUploadedByTortForum1398270442.736588.jpgImageUploadedByTortForum1398270452.170837.jpg

Should I apply funga soap with a qtip and put him in a non substrate place for the day and try and dry up the terrarium a bit?ImageUploadedByTortForum1398270558.704168.jpg

Any help with be appreciated
ImageUploadedByTortForum1398270707.537537.jpg
 

matt perl

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Apr 22, 2014
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Never mind what I said about the applying with qtip part
I'm supposed to rinse thoroughly if I do apply that fungal soap

Just looking for some insight if anyone has experienced anything similar
 

Ashes

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If you go to the tortoise health section, Yvonne posted a great shell rot treatment sticky/thread - should be one of the first posts at the top! I read it and it's very informational and answers your questions I believe!
 

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