Shell Rot Help!

[NavyDT]

Hello,
i recently baught a large female leopard tortoise from some one on craigslist. i can tell that she has had horrible care for a while. she is very pyramided. after i got her home and started in on a closer look i saw that she had what looks like one schute that was moble. after closer inspection i could see that it is badly infected. to be honest i have no idea what to do. i will attach pictures and i hope that some one can help me find a cure for her. i am just a poor man and when i saw the ad for 75 bucks i was amazed. i think that we can save her if we put our heads together.


Very Respectfully,
Bryan Foster

P.S. i dont think i will be able to take her to the vet until next payday, so please dont critizise me on this.

 

[Yvonne G]

Hi Bryan:

to the forum!!

That keratin layer is going to fall off. Its not life threatening, and it probably doesn't hurt.

The tortoise is going to need a course of antibiotic treatment, but in the meantime try to get some Betadyne. You can buy this at the drug store. Put some of the Betadyne in a syringe and squirt it all around, inside, under the infected scute and the ones adjacent to it. Use Betadyne for one day only, several times a day (Betadyne inhibits the growth of white blood cells, so you don't want to use it more often). After that first day, you can squirt Nolvesan all around the site. I think some folks here have had good results using human anti-fungal creams instead of the above.

Good luck

 

[NavyDT]

Yvonne,
Thank you very very much for your quick reply! i will try these methods. i work in a dental laboratory and i think we have extra bottles of chlorohexidne for the patients so i might nab some supply from work. i will keep you all posted on how this goes!
Very Respectfully,
Bryan Foster

---

Ok,
i got some stuff so i could start treating it tonight. i used a combination of hydrogen peroxide and witch hazel ( my mom recommended this )

here are the pictures of the damage. to be honest im really sad and this breaks my heart. i hope that we can save my sweet little girl.

 

[terracolson]

I cant even comment on my heart right now.......

 

[RichardS]

Ouch! Maybe you could go to the vet and have them mail you a bill and just pay it when you get the funds? Or pull at their heart strings a little and ask for a reduced fee and a payment plan? $15 per month or something.

 

[brookeekoorb]

Fingers are crossed for you Poor guy..

 

[egyptiandan]

Make sure you keep that dry and Nolvasan ointment would work great on that. The bone will die (if it's not already dead) and you will lose the flaring. It will though heal under the dead bone (so leave the bone in place). It never dies that cleanly, so there will be more dead bone around the edges of that space.

Danny

 

[Yvonne G]

Yes, what Danny said. Try to get your Nolvesan ointment under the edges of the other scutes. She's going to be ok. Just do your best.

 

[terracolson]

Dont forget to email the person you bought her from the pictures. Let them see what there neglect did

 

[DonaTello's-Mom]

Gosh that looks terrible...poor thing.....

 

[Traveller]

Ouch that looks awful.
Keep up the good work treating her, she's lucky to have you as an owner.

 

[NavyDT]

Update:

I took dona to the vet on friday. it was really cool because she saw us for free! she gave me some really good advice for her care and set us up with some cream, antibiotics and some pain medicine. she still isint eating but i can tell he is feeling a little better because she is looking around alot more then she was before. at any rate thanks for all the great advice guys! this is the number one spot to come to for information and caring people!
Very Respectfully,
Bryan A Foster

 

[Sigmar]

Kudos to the vet. Also to you for taking him in and making his life better

 

[Traveller]

Thanks for the update and I'm so glad you had a good experience at the vets.
Wishing a speedy recovery for Dona.

 

[TortieLuver]

That's sad. Well we change change old pyramiding growth, but can change new growth.

 

[dmmj]

most vets are kind and willing ot work with you, I did not expect a free visit, but kudos to that vet, Howabout a clean substrate right now so she does not get reinfected?

 

[elvis]

Oh Bryan, thank you so much for the update. I know we all feel so much better, knowing things are improving. Please continue to give us updates. Thank you for saving another tortoise.