Need help with shell cleaning...

[PenguinMan]

So our new baby torts are settling in nicely now and I'm just asking for a bit of advice on cleaning our torts shells.

When we received our torts the breeder had painted a little mark on the back of each tort to help with identifying them.

Now I know how bad painting on their shells is but I think they used nail polish and was just wondering if anyone had any idea how we could remove it without damaging the lil torts?
See pics below...

 

[Yvonne G]

That's not bad. At least it's in the middle of a scute and not on a growth line.

Every time you walk by, give the spot a bit of a rub. It will eventually wear off. You can try mineral oil or something like that, but don't use paint remover or nail polish remover.

 

[PenguinMan]

Cheers yvonne!
Good to know it's not that bad and I thought they'd ware away with time and was massively reluctant to use nail polish remover think I'll just give em an extra scrub on their butts when its bath time

 

[Lyn W]

From that photo I think I would separate those torts sooner rather than later, that looks quite stressful for the bottom tort.

 

[PenguinMan]

The one underneath burried down underneath the other one, the other didn't climb on top and they were also sleeping like this lol

 

[Gillian M]

A very warm welcome to the forum!

Very cute torts - GOD bless.

I totally agree with Lyn: torts are animals that do not like company, and if it's imposed on them bullying could begin. And one of them could harm the other.

 

[Alaskamike]

Since this thread is a few days since last reply , I thought I might try & add perspective.

Behaviors we see in tortoises that we might interpret as being friends , cuddling, getting along .. Etc. are a different message in the tortoise world.

Digging under or climbing over each other is not friendship it is jockeying for dominance.

One following the other around an enclosure is a message to get outta my space.

We tend to think of bullying in human terms as physical aggression. But it can and often is subtle. In the wild these little ones would go their own way and rarely if ever see each other. In an enclosure where are they going to go ?

We see the consequences over time when one grows & thrives and the other becomes stunted and hides all the time. Sometimes the stress will lower immune systems so they get infections or sick.

IMO this is more the rule than exception.

Only a few species seem more social. Aldabras and box turtles in my experience. And both have additional challenges. Aldabras get huge , and Boxies need multiple good hides so each one has their own " place".

I wish there was a sign on every pet store display of tortoises for sale that read
" Tortoises do not do well in pairs"

But alas , it will never happen , since they want to sell as many as they can

Good fortune with you little ones