Sheldon - shell help please

[Sheldon’s Mama]

Hi Frens…we need your insight and assistance again. I am seriously concerned for Sheldon’s shell health. It seems like pieces of his shell are disintegrating, peeling, and cracking off and he has a lot of what look like holes in his shell and possibly bone exposed?? And under his chin to his upper chest it’s like his whole shell is gone. I’m assuming that is not okay? Tho today i was researching and read that tortoises do shed their scutes to make room for bigger ones (you know i have my fingers and toes crossed that is what you guys will say is happening.)

The pix attached are from his soak today and his soak last week. And one of his new enclosure so you can see it and let me know if it needs changes? The pix with the yellow drawings are from today.

Sheldon’s personality seems normal. He is eating and sleeping. He is SUPER friendly and now he really likes to be held and i found his secret itchy spot so he even lets me scratch his head. I finally got him a decent sized enclosure. It’s a dog wash pool, but it has lots of room. I’m using orchid bark for substrate. I don’t use those “resin reptile bowl things” anymore. I left him a cuttle bone and he has been working his way thru that too.

We have a routine. Overnite i keep the pool inside and he stays in the garage. In the am (well, usually around noon) i bring the pool outside and he spends the day outside in the sun. The only time i don’t bring him out there is if it’s raining or too cold, or if I’m leaving and I know i won’t be back until after dark, cos right now in Orlando, FL we are having a “cold snap” and it can be anywhere from the mid 50s to low 30s at nite. The garage is pretty warm. And, if it’s too cold in there i bring him inside and he sleeps in that enclosure box i built him and then immediately realized was too small…but he goes back to the big pool for the day.

Anyway, I’m attaching photos. Please review them and tell me what you think.

Thank you so much!

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Is the substrate dry or damp?
My vision is compromised right now and when I zoom in on your photos they just get blurry.
In the off chance that your tortoise has a fungal issue brought on by sitting on damp substrate, you can use a bit of ATHLETES FOOT CREAM on those areas. It will quickly kill fungus. And do no harm if it isn't fungus.
I'm more curious about the areas on the shell carapace. This is probably not fungal. At least not the typical kind I've ever seen.
There are no dogs, rats, other tortoises nearby? I'm not able to give a good theory as to what else this could be with the limited information that I have.
(To me, they look like dog teeth scars)
Hopefully someone else will have a better idea soon.

 

[Sheldon’s Mama]

Is the substrate dry or damp?
My vision is compromised right now and when I zoom in on your photos they just get blurry.
In the off chance that your tortoise has a fungal issue brought on by sitting on damp substrate, you can use a bit of ATHLETES FOOT CREAM on those areas. It will quickly kill fungus. And do no harm if it isn't fungus.
I'm more curious about the areas on the shell carapace. This is probably not fungal. At least not the typical kind I've ever seen.
There are no dogs, rats, other tortoises nearby? I'm not able to give a good theory as to what else this could be with the limited information that I have.
(To me, they look like dog teeth scars)
Hopefully someone else will have a better idea soon.

His substrate is dry. Except sometimes when i move the pool his water dish splashes over, but it’s not enough water to matter.

He does sometimes urinate under the cardboard box or the cave thing while he is asleep (i guess) so he might be laying on that til the next day, but definitely not for any extended time frame.

I do have a dog, but they are never alone together. And when Sheldon is outside i keep grates across the pool to protect him from being snatched by a bird or something. To my knowledge there are no rodents in my area. There are snakes here. Im fairly certain i have a corn snake that lives under a part of my sidewalk and i believe a black racer lives under one of my bushes in front of my house, so i cannot imagine he is getting bitten anywhere. But every day there are new little holes around or places where his shell has peeled off or cracked off.

I’m pretty nervous about all of this cos I’d hate to think that he has exposed bone or that could be in pain. But you guys said most often vets don’t actually know that much about reptiles, so i don’t necessarily want to bring him to a vet.

I have betadine here. And i think i bought neosporin too. I have never used either on him, but saw in my research that is how to treat shell rot. Nothing on his shell is soft. And it doesn’t smell bad or anything… I’m pretty confused 🙁 i just want him to be healthy.

 

[Tom]

Hi Frens…we need your insight and assistance again. I am seriously concerned for Sheldon’s shell health. It seems like pieces of his shell are disintegrating, peeling, and cracking off and he has a lot of what look like holes in his shell and possibly bone exposed?? And under his chin to his upper chest it’s like his whole shell is gone. I’m assuming that is not okay? Tho today i was researching and read that tortoises do shed their scutes to make room for bigger ones (you know i have my fingers and toes crossed that is what you guys will say is happening.)

The pix attached are from his soak today and his soak last week. And one of his new enclosure so you can see it and let me know if it needs changes? The pix with the yellow drawings are from today.

Sheldon’s personality seems normal. He is eating and sleeping. He is SUPER friendly and now he really likes to be held and i found his secret itchy spot so he even lets me scratch his head. I finally got him a decent sized enclosure. It’s a dog wash pool, but it has lots of room. I’m using orchid bark for substrate. I don’t use those “resin reptile bowl things” anymore. I left him a cuttle bone and he has been working his way thru that too.

We have a routine. Overnite i keep the pool inside and he stays in the garage. In the am (well, usually around noon) i bring the pool outside and he spends the day outside in the sun. The only time i don’t bring him out there is if it’s raining or too cold, or if I’m leaving and I know i won’t be back until after dark, cos right now in Orlando, FL we are having a “cold snap” and it can be anywhere from the mid 50s to low 30s at nite. The garage is pretty warm. And, if it’s too cold in there i bring him inside and he sleeps in that enclosure box i built him and then immediately realized was too small…but he goes back to the big pool for the day.

Anyway, I’m attaching photos. Please review them and tell me what you think.

Thank you so much!

Those are tooth marks? Do you have a dog? Something is chewing on him. Raccoons? Cats?

You can disinfect with Betadine once, and then keep some topical triple antibiotic on it for a while.

He needs a heat lamp when indoors in the day time. He needs heavy shade when out in the sun during the day.

 

[Sheldon’s Mama]

Those are tooth marks? Do you have a dog? Something is chewing on him. Raccoons? Cats?

You can disinfect with Betadine once, and then keep some topical triple antibiotic on it for a while.

He needs a heat lamp when indoors in the day time. He needs heavy shade when out in the sun during the day.

Hi Tom,

There isn’t anything that could chew on him tho. He is in the garage by himself at nite. And he sleeps in that cave thing or under the cardboard box. He very seldom sleeps out in the open. My house get exterminated once a quarter, so i don’t imagine there would be any rodents in my garage. There have been lizards and frogs before, but they usually die on their own. I do have a cat and a dog, but neither has ever been near Sheldon except when my dog found him in the first place.

When he is outside he’s only in direct sunlight for an hour or two, then the sun moves and the roof of my house provides the shade. And, once he is done sunning he will go under the box or in the cave to sleep. I will get him a heat lamp for when he’s inside, but that is almost never during the day.

But you think i should put betadine on all those spots (even the one under his neck/head/chin) and then treat within neosporin? Do i use the betadine directly from the bottle or do i have to mix it with water first? I was thinking to use gloves and a q-tip so i could control it, or maybe a smaller paintbrush. Does that make sense?

 

[SinLA]

Can you set up a camera for night just to be 100% sure nothing is getting to him? I have a ring camera set up and it’s very easy to set up and maintain

 

[ZEROPILOT]

If Tom and I are correct, (dog bites)the marks are too far apart to be done by a small animal like a rat. And rats usually chew on body parts. Not shell.

 

[TammyJ]

You said that your dog "found" him? How long ago? Was he in the dog's mouth then?

 

[Sheldon’s Mama]

Can you set up a camera for night just to be 100% sure nothing is getting to him? I have a ring camera set up and it’s very easy to set up and maintain

I do have camera I’m not using right now that goes to my phone. I will set it up today so I can watch his enclosure overnite. Thank you for the idea!

 

[Sheldon’s Mama]

You said that your dog "found" him? How long ago? Was he in the dog's mouth then?

Thunder found Sheldon right before hurricane Ian. (I’m Sept or Oct - i forget those dates) He saw it and ran over, barking. The only time he ever touched him was when he got there. He used his paw and flipped Sheldon over onto his back. He got in trouble and has never even had the opportunity to touch him since. And my cat has never seen him as my cat is an indoor animal and the only time Sheldon has ever been in the house is on the nites it’s too cold to be outside and he goes from a cardboard box into the enclosure, which latches closed.

Could the orchid bark possibly be injuring him?