help with russian tortoise?

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wessicataylor

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hi im jessica, and a few months ago i purchased a couple of russian tortoises from the petstore and one one of them has gotten a lot darker since i took him in and has developed a thick layer of what looks like substrate on his neck, but it wont come off. I have them in a large rubbermaid container with 50/50 play sand and coconut coir with a 100w Zoo Med Powersun UV Self-Ballasted Mercury Vapor UVB Lamp. the other tortoise has not had any of these problems, so i was wondering if any one had any ideas of what this is or any advice
heres a picture:
ralphsneck.jpg
 

coreyc

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Welcome to the TFO :) I cant tell from the pic but try a warm soak see if it comes off
 

dmmj

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sadly for me I can't see the picture very well. Have you tried like picking it off to see if it is dirt or something with it's skin. Mine spend a great deal outside and I have never come across this before, and I have had russians now for ten years. If it is possible to post a better picture ( clearer) .
 

wessicataylor

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I will try the warm water soak, but it does not come off very easily when I try to pick it off
here's a better pic:
ralphshead.jpg
 

dmmj

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but it does come off? and if /when it comes off does it bleed?
 

wessicataylor

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very little will come off and when it does i really have to dig at it, but it does not bleed.
 

dmmj

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OK I would say it is just dirt caked on the skin I would soak a lot and gently rub it off, it won't really hurt the tortoise just an inconvenience like matter. Now how it got like that is another matter and I don't really know but I would guess it has been getting wet ( the tortoise) and just collecting dirt.
 

wessicataylor

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ok, thank you everyone so much! I've never kept tortoises inside and just wanted to be extra careful and make sure I wasn't doing something wrong with the substrate
 

GeoTerraTestudo

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I have never seen that before, but it does sound like caked-on substrate. Perhaps the play sand is the problem? I have never used either real sand or calcium sand, but other tortoise keepers here and elsewhere say that sand can irritate the shell and eyes, and can cause gut impaction if ingested often enough.

I have used coco coir and cypress mulch with success for box turtles, a redfoot tortoise, and now two Russian tortoises. Other members also suggest using topsoil (soil with no perlite or vermiculite in it, both of which can also lead to gut impaction). Perhaps if you change the substrate to one or more of these more favored types, your tortoise will not have this problem anymore.
 

wessicataylor

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ok so should I stop making a 50/50 sand and coconut fiber substrate and just stick with 100% coconut fiber?
 

Yvonne G

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Hi wessicataylor:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name? I'm in Central California, whereabouts are you in our fair state?
 

lynnedit

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wessicataylor said:
ok so should I stop making a 50/50 sand and coconut fiber substrate and just stick with 100% coconut fiber?
I think the coir gets kind of messy when used alone, but you could mix with topsoil or cypress mulch.
 

wessicataylor

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emysemys said:
Hi wessicataylor:

Welcome to the forum!!

May we know your name? I'm in Central California, whereabouts are you in our fair state?

hi, I'm Jessica and I'm from Southern California

alright thanks for the advice! I'll be sure to change it asap!:)
 

dmmj

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GeoTerraTestudo said:
lynnedit said:
wessicataylor said:
ok so should I stop making a 50/50 sand and coconut fiber substrate and just stick with 100% coconut fiber?
I think the coir gets kind of messy when used alone, but you could mix with topsoil or cypress mulch.

Yep, agreed. :)
Ditto, and hello from another So Cal member
 
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