Help and advise on healing minor shell rot

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stuarto275

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Hello, i would do alot of tortoise research (mainly Sulcata's) just to be prepared for worst case scenario... and a bit of an obsessive personality. which has paid off in the long run. my first tortoise was a slightly pyramidded sulcata and was dehydrated. i got him to very good health. very active, high appetite, smooth new growth improving his minor pyramid problem, kept very humid and at right tempeture and over all happy now. so i i thought i should get another and begin breeding them. (not to sell) more or less a 50/50 i would pick a female juvenile and fate would of decided for me.

anyhow, trying to avoid making an essay of pointless information, went with my fiance and noticed the sulcata's that were ordered in on my request were pyramidded badly and kept in a tank with hermans, horsefields, red foot and a large bearded dragon jumping on them. only food to be seen was a few large crickets. though there was water supplied. i was considering spending £160 on a sick sulcata and bring it to health until my girl fell in love with a red foot. it was sitting on a big log trying to "fly" off it. she loved the little idiot. so having a good knowledge of torts i already new how to care for him. i handled him and he had shell rot.

i compared with the other red foot it was worse i think and dehydrated (my guess by the pale and shedding of skin). i bought him for £130 and took him home in hope to dr him. ive caught this really early so i hope to do what i can to reverse it.
cheap toothbrush to his plastron after a thirty minute soak. i was hoping to use betadine solution and see if it works. if not an antibiotic ointment.
dialy. if no luck athletes foot ointment.

all i could get this morning was savlon dry antisceptic spray. and if that wouldn't work mycil ointment (treats and prevents athletes foot) i bought.

sorry for the length of this lol but i would be grateful if someone could comment on me using this savlon spray in hope to help me give this poor little thing a happy healthy future, unlike his siblings and mates back there. ..... i could see me buying more little guys.
i obviously keep him away from my sulcata.

here's what i was thinking as a routine:
soak 30 mins daily before i feed him. mid-day or night a small spray of this on the plastron covering his face, limbs and skin..
povidone iodine 1.14%
its a powder spray . forms protective layer of antiseptic layer that helps prevent infection and aids natural healing in cuts, grazes burns blisters and abrasions.....

after a week, take the toothbrush to the plastron , mid soak. and leave him for a few days. no improvement then resort to athletes foot ointment.

grately appreciate response from anyone that has anything to say.

especialy if i should not do my idea above.
or if you could recommend an "Over the counter" med.
was considering lying to the doc to get the anti-biotic because rep vet isnt an option due to my location and financial situation. i know you may think then i shouldn't have bought him at all but atleast this way he has a chance because people arent big on reptiles in the town im in or near it and he would have lived at the shop until he died or a child got him.
its the third day of having him. im really researching into this hard to find someone that has helped one before.

i use this forum alot to get other peoples views on silly little things like pro's and con's of breeding , this is my first post i dont know what im doing, lol or where im posting but i couldn't find anything similar.
 

Yvonne G

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I'm sorry you haven't received any responses to your query. I guess not many people really have anything to do with shell rot.

Your link didn't work for me, so I searched their site and found this:

http://lllreptile.com/store/catalog...nd-cleaners/-/nature-zone-turtle-shell-saver/

Is that what you were linking?

I doubt that would have anything to do with shell rot. Your best bet is to go to the pharmacy and ask where they keep the athlete's foot preparations. Buy a tube of cream. You clean the area well with a soft brush and water, dry it well, then dab a bit of the cream into the spot and rub it in, making sure to get under all the edges around the spot.

You may have to keep the habitat a bit on the dry side until you get the rot cleared up. You can have a dry substrate, but a moist or humid hide, using moistened sphagnum moss. This will be above the tortoise instead of under him and the plastron should stay dry this way.
 

dmarcus

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Hello and welcome to the forum...

Sounds like your on the right path, I would also go with the cream. No experience with the spray so I am unsure about it.
 

ascott

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Yvonne rocked this one....do what she says and add in some time and your little one should heal and seal right back up....

By the way...some of us financially challenged folks have some mighty happy and healthy torts....so no need to be concerned with if someone is so narrow minded to believe only the rich deserve to host torts and turtles....keep us posted on the progress....:D
 

stuarto275

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Thank you. i would use coco coir for my sulcata so i went with that for his substrate because its all i had at the time, im keeping it dry and just misting the air and his shell. i have spaghnum moss but i don't find it to be very good. itdries in a day and is difficult to rehydrate.
i cant seem to get cypress mulch. would anybody have good ideas on a substrate for a red foot?
Lol if i succeed in this even a bit im definatly going back to buy another and bring it to health. despite the fact im a little bit in a debt.
 
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