Cherry-head
New Member
Hello,
My cherry head red foot tortoise nibbler is about 5 months old. She has continuously had what I think is likely a fungal infection for 2 months. It was just a couple of areas in the center of her plastron, but this week it has worsened greatly. First I started using a clotrimazole cream, then I started using potidone-iodine (betadine) as well in case it is bacterial. I have been using Q-tips with a bit of pressure to try and scrub it while applying the medication, but I have considered maybe using a soft toothbrush to clean the area more thoroughly. I soak her every 2 or 3 days and I had been applying the medicine after her soak. The last few days I have been doing it more often. Her enclosure has a damp soil and sand mixture at the base that she isn't in contact with and a top covering of mainly eucalyptus mulch with some patches of sphagnum moss, including the area inside her hides. I was worried the enclosure was too wet as some water was pooling up in the bottom due to an increase in local rainfall so I drilled extra drainage holes around a week ago and it is staying pretty dry now. I had hoped the soil underneath would create a nice humid microclimate, but it might be too much. I live in Miami, FL on the bay and she stays outside, so the ambient air is quite humid. I have a ceramic heat emitter that I put on when the temperature outside drops below 85 or so, but it hasn't gotten cooler than the mid 70s here since I got her. I ordered a thermostat in the mail, but it hasn't come yet. Any advice about the shut off temp for this climate would be nice.
Her entire plastron has recently become covered with faint ring patterns of infection. The streaks of indented, infected tissue surrouding the center line of her plastron have been present for weeks and seem to get better and worse with time. I am now very worried about the trailing edge of her plastron (bottom right when looking at the picture) that suddenly appears bleached. In addition to these obvious issues, she also has some growth issues across her entire shell. I attached a picture where you can see a clear indentation in the first line of large scutes on her carapace. If anyone knows what that even if it is separate from the other issues, please let me know.
Her main staples are dandelions, endive, hibiscus leaves, and sometimes spring mix. Every few days she gets a different type of fruit or veggie, so far she has had mango, pineapple, apple, prickly pear, grapes, carrots, and zuchinni. I have fed her the Mazuri pellets a few times. She gets herpvite and calcium supplement powders about every three days. I usually put it on whenever I give the wet food it will stick to. I haven't tried giving her any worms or bugs yet, although she does have springtails in her enclosure that crawl on her and her food that I imagine she ingests sometimes.
So, please tell me what you suggest I do to help her heal! I just read today the advice about letting her dry with the medicine for a while before putting her back in her enclosure. I think I will try that next along with the increased treatment frequency. Are there other, more reptile specific medicines out there that may be more effective? Tell me if you think I might be doing anything wrong.
My cherry head red foot tortoise nibbler is about 5 months old. She has continuously had what I think is likely a fungal infection for 2 months. It was just a couple of areas in the center of her plastron, but this week it has worsened greatly. First I started using a clotrimazole cream, then I started using potidone-iodine (betadine) as well in case it is bacterial. I have been using Q-tips with a bit of pressure to try and scrub it while applying the medication, but I have considered maybe using a soft toothbrush to clean the area more thoroughly. I soak her every 2 or 3 days and I had been applying the medicine after her soak. The last few days I have been doing it more often. Her enclosure has a damp soil and sand mixture at the base that she isn't in contact with and a top covering of mainly eucalyptus mulch with some patches of sphagnum moss, including the area inside her hides. I was worried the enclosure was too wet as some water was pooling up in the bottom due to an increase in local rainfall so I drilled extra drainage holes around a week ago and it is staying pretty dry now. I had hoped the soil underneath would create a nice humid microclimate, but it might be too much. I live in Miami, FL on the bay and she stays outside, so the ambient air is quite humid. I have a ceramic heat emitter that I put on when the temperature outside drops below 85 or so, but it hasn't gotten cooler than the mid 70s here since I got her. I ordered a thermostat in the mail, but it hasn't come yet. Any advice about the shut off temp for this climate would be nice.
Her entire plastron has recently become covered with faint ring patterns of infection. The streaks of indented, infected tissue surrouding the center line of her plastron have been present for weeks and seem to get better and worse with time. I am now very worried about the trailing edge of her plastron (bottom right when looking at the picture) that suddenly appears bleached. In addition to these obvious issues, she also has some growth issues across her entire shell. I attached a picture where you can see a clear indentation in the first line of large scutes on her carapace. If anyone knows what that even if it is separate from the other issues, please let me know.
Her main staples are dandelions, endive, hibiscus leaves, and sometimes spring mix. Every few days she gets a different type of fruit or veggie, so far she has had mango, pineapple, apple, prickly pear, grapes, carrots, and zuchinni. I have fed her the Mazuri pellets a few times. She gets herpvite and calcium supplement powders about every three days. I usually put it on whenever I give the wet food it will stick to. I haven't tried giving her any worms or bugs yet, although she does have springtails in her enclosure that crawl on her and her food that I imagine she ingests sometimes.
So, please tell me what you suggest I do to help her heal! I just read today the advice about letting her dry with the medicine for a while before putting her back in her enclosure. I think I will try that next along with the increased treatment frequency. Are there other, more reptile specific medicines out there that may be more effective? Tell me if you think I might be doing anything wrong.