Russian tortoise red patches on both sides of neck.

[Dcatalano]

My Russian tortoise has red patches on both sides of his neck. They’re small but I soaked him today and noticed when he stretched his neck out. Thoughts on what’s going on?
I’m also wondering about overall shell health. Do I have anything to be concerned about?
He’s about 15 years old and gets a soak once or twice a week. We live in a dry climate and he has an open table/open enclosure indoors with orchid bark substrate, floodlight for warmth and an Arcadia ProT5 UVB light. Open air enclosure with partial sun when outdoors as well.
Thanks in advance.

 

[jsheffield]

Hi,

I took in a rescue with a little chip on the side of her shell that ended up rubbing against her neck, and it looked a bit like that... I ended up smoothing the shell a bit with a dremel and it took care of the problem.

I wonder if there's new growth or a chip on the shell on both sides of his neck that's scratching his neck... maybe try running your finger along the shell where it could rub against the tortoise's neck and see if there's rough or jagged spots.

If there are, you can file it down a bit and then treat the rubbed spots on the neck with some triple antibiotic ointment.

I hope that's it, because it's a minor issue and easily fixed.

Jamie