Question about Shell-PICS

[Dbennett561]

Hello,

Homer, our cherryhead, is 3 months old. I have some concerns about his shell and hoping you guys can offer some piece of mind or inform me to take action.

I have 2 areas of concern, The top portion of the bottom layer of Scutes shows some discoloration (white), is this normal for hatching?

And the Plastron seems to be a bit discolored as well.

I live in Florida, humidity in his cage is between 78% and 90%. Temps are kept from 85 to 95.

Any advice/feedback would be greatly appreciated!

Thank you,
-Dan

 

[naturalman91]

i'm no expert but white normally indicates new growth

 

[FLINTUS]

Not sure about the scutes, probably just coloring of the shell so don't worry for now. It's not where you get those white growth lines as naturalman91 said, they are in between the scutes and these are on.
The plastron looks like it may be a problem with shell rot, but hard to tell. Red foots are prone to it, despite needing humid conditions. As a result, I would move you heat bulb to one end of the enclosure to create a gradient, and at the 'hot end', keep it quite dry. The substrate should not be wet to the touch directly under the bulb, but it should be damp if he digs down. This way, the keratin has a chance to dry off.

 

[mikeh]

Looks like start of shell rot on marginal scutes. I would treat it right away.

 

[FLINTUS]

Looks like start of shell rot on marginal scutes. I would treat it right away.

I thought shell rot on marginal scutes at first, but that is pretty rare to see though.

 

[Turtlepete]

This is NOT shell rot. Shell rot is a fungal or bacterial infection typically....This is shell FUNGUS. Very different. Quite common in red foots, given the moist environment needed....Its quite a simple fix. Keep a bottle of Povidone/Betadine iodine around. Mix it with water maybe 1 parts iodine 10 parts water....Also buy some athletes foot cream from the pharmacy. Anything that contains clotrimazole works fine. Just rinse the area with the iodine solution and wipe a little bit of cream on the affected areas. Nothing serious at all. Shell fungus is probably the least minor thing that could possibly happen to your tortoise, besides stepping in his own poop . Nothing to worry about.

 

[Dbennett561]

Thanks, turtle Pete!

 

[Turtlepete]

For the sake of clarification, shell fungus is incredibly minor in its early stages. I'll put that here just so nobody sees what I said and thinks that it doesn't need treated. You should always treat it, but it would have to be left on its own and allowed to go on for a very long time before it could do any real damage. I call it incredibly minor because it is very simple and easy to treat, the treatment is pretty much 100% success, and it's easy to prevent.

And more clarification. Again, shell fungus is minor. Characterized by a white chalky substance, sometimes "flaky" growing over the tortoises shell. Almost always on the plastron and maybe up to the marginals, I would imagine it would have to be left alone for a while to reach the carapace.
Shell ROT is very serious. It is a bacterial or fungal infection occurring under the scutes, a result typically of a wound that wasn't treated properly, or wasn't noticed. The wound will smell awful (if you have ever smelt an infection, you will understand), the area will feel soft, and sometimes small holes in the shell can occur. If shell rot is left alone, eventually it could pierce the body cavity. The result will be septicemia, and likely the death of the tortoise, unless proper vet care is sought out immediately.