Hermanns shell peeling off help!

[Mweigel]

So I just noticed this after her bath. I though it was from scratching on her calcium block so I scratched it and more came off. What could this be? There’s nothing like it anywhere else on her shell and she’s still very active

 

[Sarah2020]

Not sure but I would get a small tooth brush during next soak and brush it to remove it.

 

[zovick]

View attachment 310039 So I just noticed this after her bath. I though it was from scratching on her calcium block so I scratched it and more came off. What could this be? There’s nothing like it anywhere else on her shell and she’s still very active

That is shell rot. Have you looked to see if there is more on the bottom shell?

 

[Mweigel]

That is shell rot. Have you looked to see if there is more on the bottom shell?

Really? I looked everywhere else on her shell and saw nothing. I even went over everywhere with my fingernail and nothing else came up and nothing is soft

 

[zovick]

Really? I looked everywhere else on her shell and saw nothing. I even went over everywhere with my fingernail and nothing else came up and nothing is soft

That spot is shell rot, believe me. You need to take a very stiff bristle brush and clean it off, or scrape it with a metal instrument to remove the dead (white) debris, then apply athlete's foot cream on it to get it to stop.

 

[Mweigel]

That spot is shell rot, believe me. You need to take a very stiff bristle brush and clean it off, or scrape it with a metal instrument to remove the dead (white) debris, then apply athlete's foot cream on it to get it to stop.

Ok I will do that, How long should I wait to take her to the vet? I wouldn't be able to take her until the 4th due to the vet being 2 hours from me and not open this weekend....do you think she will be ok until then if I clean it and add the foot creme? Also any type of foot creme?

 

[zovick]

Ok I will do that, How long should I wait to take her to the vet? I wouldn't be able to take her until the 4th due to the vet being 2 hours from me and not open this weekend....do you think she will be ok until then if I clean it and add the foot creme? Also any type of foot creme?

You don't need a vet visit if that is the only spot with the rot. Just clean off the white areas (dead shell tissue) and then put any brand of antifungal athlete's foot foot cream on it. It will kill the fungus which is causing the shell rot. Usually it works in a few days to a week. Then just keep checking that area and repeat the process if it comes back.

Can you post a photo of the entire bottom shell of your tortoise? I would like to see if there are any other spots visible on the underside of the shell which need treatment.

 

[Mweigel]

@zovikI’m going to do the athletes foot cream now. I called thevet for advice but haven’t heard back from them yet

 

[zovick]

View attachment 310103 @zovikView attachment 310104I’m going to do the athletes foot cream now. I called thevet for advice but haven’t heard back from them yet

Thanks for the pix. You are right, the rest of the tortoise's shell looks pretty good. I do see one other tiny spot of possible shell rot on the inside of the left rear leg hole at the junction between two of the marginal scutes. Do you see that? I would clean that area and apply the antifungal cream to it also.

 

[Mweigel]

Thanks for the pix. You are right, the rest of the tortoise's shell looks pretty good. I do see one other tiny spot of possible shell rot on the inside of the left rear leg hole at the junction between two of the marginal scutes. Do you see that? I would clean that area and apply the antifungal cream to it also.

The dark brown spot? I can do that just in case. I just soaked her and tried scraping by her tail and the white won’t come off so I stopped messing with it.

 

[zovick]

The dark brown spot? I can do that just in case. I just soaked her and tried scraping by her tail and the white won’t come off so I stopped messing with it. View attachment 310122

The spot in the leg hole is not brown; it is another white area right where two of the scutes come together.

the white area left showing under the tail should come off if you scrape it harder. Use the tip of a knife blade and gently go back and forth. If you still can't get it, just put the cream on it the way it is and then go back to try scraping it off again in a few days. Do the same with the white area in the leg hole.

Good luck.

 

[Mweigel]

The spot in the leg hole is not brown; it is another white area right where two of the scutes come together.

the white area left showing under the tail should come off if you scrape it harder. Use the tip of a knife blade and gently go back and forth. If you still can't get it, just put the cream on it the way it is and then go back to try scraping it off again in a few days. Do the same with the white area in the leg hole.

Good luck.

Oh I see, when I bathed her it wasn't there. When I scrape near her tail again the white stuff what it's supposed to look like? Thank you for all your help I super appreciate it!

 

[zovick]

Oh I see, when I bathed her it wasn't there. When I scrape near her tail again the white stuff what it's supposed to look like? Thank you for all your help I super appreciate it!

It will still look whitish in color, but will be a cleaner looking surface. You are trying to remove the dead and infected bone tissue so the part underneath it can heal and not become infected. Does that make sense? You might see a few tiny drops of blood as you scrape, too. If you see the blood drops, you have scraped enough off for that time.

 

[Mweigel]

It will still look whitish in color, but will be a cleaner looking surface. You are trying to remove the dead and infected bone tissue so the part underneath it can heal and not become infected. Does that make sense? You might see a few tiny drops of blood as you scrape, too. If you see the blood drops, you have scraped enough off for that time.

Here’s an update. Do you think it is healing how it’s suppose to? This is after 5 uses of athletes foot cream. And I’ve scraped there 3 times.

 

[Sarah2020]

Looks better than when you started!

 

[Mweigel]

Looks better than when you started!

Thanks, I wonder when I will see growth back, I also don't know how long I should keep this process going, the vet never called me back

 

[zovick]

View attachment 310297Here’s an update. Do you think it is healing how it’s suppose to? This is after 5 uses of athletes foot cream. And I’ve scraped there 3 times.

It looks much better. I would keep using the athlete's foot cream for another 5 days or so (10 days total). That is usually enough to kill off the fungus. Then just keep an eye on it and if it starts up again, you will know what to do.

Did you do the area I mentioned to you in the leg hole also?

 

[KarenSoCal]

@zovick
Maybe this will help? Is this the area you are referring to?

 

[Mweigel]

It looks much better. I would keep using the athlete's foot cream for another 5 days or so (10 days total). That is usually enough to kill off the fungus. Then just keep an eye on it and if it starts up again, you will know what to do.

Did you do the area I mentioned to you in the leg hole also?

I tried scraping it and nothing came off so I focused more on the tail. but I decided to try scraping it today and she bled a little bit which made me feel bad. So not I will focus on that area too along with the same on the other side since it looks the same. I originally thought it was shell growth. I can't get any more to scrape off her tail so that's good right?

Is it ok if I start doing it once a day instead of 2? My job is getting stupid with the hours and today i could only do the treatment once.

 

[Mweigel]

@zovick
Maybe this will help? Is this the area you are referring to?
View attachment 310332

When i originally scraped it nothing happened but today I decided to try again and it started to bleed, poor Poe. It didn't bleed a lot just a little