Please help, is this shell rot?

tevanburen

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Hi, I have a Hermann's tortoise who's only a few months old. I've noticed a few scrapes on the bottom of his shell that I'm pretty worried about. Could someone with more experience please let me know if this looks unusual? He also has a really noticeable belly button, which I've read goes away over time, but I would also appreciate your input on. Thanks so much


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zolasmum

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Hi, I have a Hermann's tortoise who's only a few months old. I've noticed a few scrapes on the bottom of his shell that I'm pretty worried about. Could someone with more experience please let me know if this looks unusual? He also has a really noticeable belly button, which I've read goes away over time, but I would also appreciate your input on. Thanks so much


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Hello and welcome. Our tortoise is a Hermann's, (now 22), and I don't think they are prone to shell rot. What sort of substrate are you using?
The "belly button" is the remains of the yolk sac of his egg, which is gradually absorbed, but takes quite a while to dry up - nothing to worry about -just let it go naturally. Your photo reminds me so much of our little Zola - so cute - and the remains of his egg sac was still there when he chose us at about a year old.
Angie
 

wellington

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It is either scrapes or a fungus. If there is nothing she could be scraping it on then get some athletes foot cream and rub in day after a warm soak.
We do need to figure out if it is a fungus what is causing it.
What are your temps?
Substrate?
Humidity?
How wet/damp is the substrate?
 

tevanburen

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It is either scrapes or a fungus. If there is nothing she could be scraping it on then get some athletes foot cream and rub in day after a warm soak.
We do need to figure out if it is a fungus what is causing it.
What are your temps?
Substrate?
Humidity?
How wet/damp is the substrate?
Thanks so much for the reply.
I will get athletes foot cream. Do you reccomend daily after soaks?
Temps are ~90F on the hot side, ~75F on cool side. ~70F everywhere at night
Substrate is pure coco coir
Humidity is quite humid, ~70% relative. I read conflicting things all the time, but definitely have seen that high humidity could be a cause of rot (but also that it's good for young torts)
Substrate is usually damp, but also should be fairly clean. I soak him almost daily so I very rarely see any waste in his enclosure, and I take it out when I do
 

ZEROPILOT

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Thanks so much for the reply.
I will get athletes foot cream. Do you reccomend daily after soaks?
Temps are ~90F on the hot side, ~75F on cool side. ~70F everywhere at night
Substrate is pure coco coir
Humidity is quite humid, ~70% relative. I read conflicting things all the time, but definitely have seen that high humidity could be a cause of rot (but also that it's good for young torts)
Substrate is usually damp, but also should be fairly clean. I soak him almost daily so I very rarely see any waste in his enclosure, and I take it out when I do
It's the shell carapace in constant contact with a wet substrate that causes these fungal issues. They're much more common in tropical Redfoot tortoises.
You want the humidity but not the wetness. The tort needs to be able to completely dry off during a portion of the day. This stops the cycle
 

wellington

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Thanks so much for the reply.
I will get athletes foot cream. Do you reccomend daily after soaks?
Temps are ~90F on the hot side, ~75F on cool side. ~70F everywhere at night
Substrate is pure coco coir
Humidity is quite humid, ~70% relative. I read conflicting things all the time, but definitely have seen that high humidity could be a cause of rot (but also that it's good for young torts)
Substrate is usually damp, but also should be fairly clean. I soak him almost daily so I very rarely see any waste in his enclosure, and I take it out when I do
Do a soak and then apply cream once dried off.
High humidity is good but you want the top layer of substrate dry.
 

tevanburen

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Do a soak and then apply cream once dried off.
High humidity is good but you want the top layer of substrate dry.
Thank you both. I will make sure the substrate is drier from now on, but try to keep the humidity the same.

Should I leave the cream on for a few minutes and then wipe it off, or just leave it on? Do I just put him back in the enclosure with it on? Should I do this once or daily until the marks are gone?
 

wellington

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Because they aren't open wounds you can just put him back in his enclosure on the substrate.
Do it daily until its cleared up, soaking and washing the cream off from the day before, then reapplying new. If you don't see improvements in a week then it's likely something else. But if you see improvements then keep doing this daily until 100% cleared.
 

tevanburen

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Thanks everyone for your help. I've been using the cream for the past couple weeks and the marks are ~95% gone. I hope at this point I won't jynx anything by saying that it's working, so, I think it's working! I wouldn't have known what to do without you all; seriously thanks so much. I'll make sure to keep using the cream until it's all the way gone

I hope you can enjoy this pic of him in the bath as a small form of repayment
 

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Tom

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Thanks everyone for your help. I've been using the cream for the past couple weeks and the marks are ~95% gone. I hope at this point I won't jynx anything by saying that it's working, so, I think it's working! I wouldn't have known what to do without you all; seriously thanks so much. I'll make sure to keep using the cream until it's all the way gone

I hope you can enjoy this pic of him in the bath as a small form of repayment
That is a handsome tortoise.

This will have lots of helpful info for you, including a link to the correct care info at the end:
 

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