I am babysitting a Russian, and the shell doesnt look right

[AslInterpreter]

Hello everyone! We started babysitting a Russian Tortoise for a friend today, and when I was looking it over, its shell did not look right on the bottom side. The pictures will be more helpful than my description. I do know that it is housed in coco fiber and fed baby spring mix, peas, and carrots. Any clue what this could be????? Thansk in advance for the help.

 

[chase thorn]

i am not an expert, but it looks to me like shell rot. double check with other members.

 

[October]

Same here. Looks like old shell rot. Or possibly dirty.

 

[AslInterpreter]

Thanks for the replies! I cleaned most of the coco fiber off before I took the pic. It looks like the shell IS rotting away. Could that be from the moist coco fiber???

Thanks agian for the help.

 

[sulcatababies1402]

Im not s super expert but i did google shell rot and found a tort with similar markings.My guess would be shell rot as well clearly peices are missing from the shell.From what i understand from my friend google shell rot occurs when too much moisture is gathered and bacteria forms.

 

[chase thorn]

Thanks for the replies! I cleaned most of the coco fiber off before I took the pic. It looks like the shell IS rotting away. Could that be from the moist coco fiber???

Thanks agian for the help.

there are a couple different types of shell rot. that looks like from being on a moist surface for a long period of time! but it may even be a chip with coir in it from climbing on and sliding off rocks. but shell rot is my guess.

 

[Lulu]

Does it actually feel soft or crumbly? Most Russians are wild caught and tend to carry a lot of scars from their old days. Mine has a ton of old shell rot marks all over his plastron. That what it looks like on your friend's tortoise. From the pic it looks like signs of an old infection. If it's hard and kind of smooth around the edges, that's probably what it is.

 

[lynnedit]

I am no expert either. A lot of Russians are wild caught, and have scars from their experiences.
It would be a good idea to let some of the more experienced members chime in, it might be old damage, not sure, as I have not had to treat shell rot yet.
If we don't hear more input, we can try PM'ing a couple of people soon, just to make sure.
Meanwhile, you might want to tell your friend that peas are too high in protein for these tortoises. They do best with leafy greens, weeds. Spring mix is fine as a base. Whole carrots are good occasionally to keep their beak trimmed.
Here is an information on an updated list (and other care aspects):
http://www.russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm.
Otherwise, the substrate sounds fine.
So nice of you to look into this!!!

 

[Lulu]

Definitely check with an expert. I've never had a live case either, and neither has my husband (he has a 1.2 group). We're just used to seeing plastrons with old scars. I don't know how a live infection would look different from a picture.

 

[chase thorn]

i would also do some research on shell rot just to see

 

[lynnedit]

I checked with one of our moderators,Yvonne, via pm and she looked at the pics and pm'ed me back, so I will pass it along...

"Are you talking about the indented spaces in the very center of the scute? That's old shell rot. To be sure its old, just clean it gently with a soft bristle brush and then smell it. If there's no rotten smell, its old and you need not do anything to it. If it smells, you can make sure its very clean then put some anti-fungal cream (for human athlete's foot) on it."

Coir is a good substrate and should be damp underneath, but not sopping.
So if the areas on the shell are hard and don't have any odor, the tort should be fine!

 

[Claireabbo]

yeah it looks like shell rot to me...

 

[lynnedit]

I think the idea is 'old' or 'new'. They can look the same in a pic, so only the person with the tort can really tell. Hopefully it is old.

 

[Kristina]

Okay, here is the deal. YES, it is shell rot. NO, it is not a concern. It is old and dry. ALmost every single wild caught Russian (and most Russians are wild caught) have shell rot in that EXACT same place. It either comes from their wild environment or import conditions, I am not sure which.

Coconut coir is a good substrate, and it should be kept damp. I am more concerned about the diet. Please point the owners in the direction of this article - http://www.tortoiseforum.org/Thread...ises-The-Balanced-Diet-Revealed#axzz1Ys0760ej and also this link - http://www.russiantortoise.org/russiantortoisediet.htm

Carrots should be fed only very occasionally, as well as the peas. Spring mix is a good "base" but other dark leafy greens and weeds should be fed regularly.

 

[pdrobber]

Kristina, now that you mention it, that is on at least one of my Russians also.

 

[chase thorn]

i have a WC and has no sign of old rot.

 

[lynnedit]

I think some of them have evidence of old shell rot and injuries, but some look pretty clear, and must have been luckier in their past lives!
Thanks to everyone for the clarification.

 

[AslInterpreter]

Thanks to everyone for the great info!!!! I will be sending her owners an email with a link to this thread. Hopefully they will sign up as well. . Thanks again everyone!