Red marks on shell - Russian Tortoise

[SLeese44]

Hi all

On Monday I noticed these red marks on my Russian Tortoise’s shell. Has anybody had any experience with similar marks or know what this may be and whether he needs to see a vet? Possibly bruised himself however the one on the bottom left seems to be changing in shape/expanding slightly (last photo is from Weds in comparison).

He has no red on his plastron, is eating and walking fine and otherwise seems his usual self but I am concerned about him so any help would be appreciated.

He has had two previous owners before me - I have had him for two years.

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

I will tag @zovick here. Is there any chance that he has injured himself?

 

[zovick]

Hi all

On Monday I noticed these red marks on my Russian Tortoise’s shell. Has anybody had any experience with similar marks or know what this may be and whether he needs to see a vet? Possibly bruised himself however the one on the bottom left seems to be changing in shape/expanding slightly (last photo is from Weds in comparison).

He has no red on his plastron, is eating and walking fine and otherwise seems his usual self but I am concerned about him so any help would be appreciated.

He has had two previous owners before me - I have had him for two years.

I have no idea what would cause this type of red lesion; however, because it is very minimal and well differentiated, it does not appear to be from any type of disease process. It may just be a spot of highly vascularized new bone/shell growth.

Personally, I wouldn't be concerned about it. It will probably just go away in a few weeks or less.

 

[SLeese44]

Thanks both, it is possible he may have fallen on one of his rocks whilst climbing. I will keep an eye on them and fingers crossed they disappear.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Were there any updates on this little guy? Hope he healed okas a fellow uk would love to pass on some useful links for you

This thread covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc, definitely double check bulb types, folks unfortunately sold the wrong ones often), correct levels, appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and the tortoise table link

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it, I have a huge back log I need to add

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Now that housing thread discusses an open top set up, which is fine for adult tortoises, but I will say, knowing how cold our uk winters get, for those who don’t brumate their temperate species, they can really struggle keeping their temperates where needed, a cover can come in really handy for maintaining your heat, the most efficient closed set ups are melamine/pvc vivs

Visual inspiration

Hi guys! I’ve had some lovely messages complimenting me on my care sheets I made for all the visuals they include! That makes me so happy because as a visual learner myself, that was my goal🥰 I’ve recently had some requests for some more visual inspiration for set ups that can house babies/...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is good to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they might come in handy