Help! (shell problem)

[lhorenblas]

I have a baby Red Footed tortoise, Edith, that I purchased several months ago. She has been doing great; eating, growing, etc. I noticed today that the bottom of her shell looks concerning and I don't know what to do! I emailed the breeder I got her from but he hasn't responded to me yet and being the OCD pet parent that I am, I am hoping that y'all can help me NOW! She spends 98% of the day hiding (I'm going to be making changes to how her lighting is arranged because I think too much light is contributing to this) but she generally comes out to eat on her own or if I haven't seen her out I get her out to eat. She is on coconut coir substrate with sphagnum moss, I don't know if this is ideal but I am trying to experiment with ways to keep the humidity up. That is my biggest problem at the moment since I live in Texas where my apartment is generally air conditioned 9 months out of the year (though I keep it at 70, its just very dry air inside). The temps range from 70 on the cool side to 85-90 on the hot side (during the day, the lights are all off at night). I've attached a photo of her underbelly as well as one of her next to a standard business card for sizing reference. Help me! I want to be a good tort mom! (I say "she" but I don't actually know if my tort is male or female. If you know please inform me!)

 

[AmRoKo]

Oh wow, idk what that is but I'm sure someone with more experience will answer you soon! I hope your baby does alright!

 

[mike taylor]

Ok you have some rot or the start . The problem is you substrate is to wet .lets fix that first . You need to cover your enclosure with something to hold in the heat and humidity . Only poor water in the corners and keep the top dry . Ok the rot / fungus problem you need a few things to fix it one foot cream - some antiseptic hand soap like doctors use I'll post pics and a soft toothbrush . First clean with the soap and toothbrush ,then apply the betadine, then day two clean with soap the apply the foot cream,repeat daily till it's better . Don't use the betadine more than once. It will not let new growth come in . Keep the top of your substrate dry very important part . Wash then dry then foot cream . Hope this helps .

 

[mainey34]

You may want to add a layer of cypress mulch on top of the coir. This will help with the shell fungus also. The other thing that concerns me is your temps. They are not warm enough. In my opinion..i would go for 80* being the lowest temp and 90* being your hot. See if that helps. Also, what type of lighting are you useing? It might be too bright. Try a regular household bulb. 65watt.

 

[mike taylor]

For red foots the best thing to use is a che on a thermostat. Then use a small uvb fixture like the 12 inch10 .0 . Its like 25 dollars. Or you can use a black light from the Halloween store.