Shell Rot on Russian?

OkAdiza

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My friend recently took in a Russian tortoise. She posted a pic on her Facebook forum and they told her tortoise has shell rot. I was the one that picked the tortoise up for her, and from what I saw, he just seemed very dry from being kept in dry conditions. Is this shell rot?

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Yvonne G

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Shell rot is caused by constant contact with moisture/urine/wet feces, etc. so I was prepared to say it almost always starts on the plastron. However, when I looked closely at the second picture it certainly does look like the start of shell rot.
 

ZEROPILOT

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It probably ISN'T fungus.
But the good thing about the common treatment (Athletes foot cream) is that it stops fungal issues....But it does no harm to the animal if it wasn't needed.
So, get some and apply it.
If it's fungal, itll go away...
And if it's a dogs teeth marks, a scrape or something else, it will do no harm.
I get this from the DOLLAR STORE, btw.
You can buy the expen$ive stuff. But you don't need to.
 

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OkAdiza

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Ok, thanks @Yvonne G What should she do for him so it doesn’t get worse? She has been giving daily soaks. Should that stop?
 

OkAdiza

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It probably ISN'T fungus.
But the good thing about the common treatment (Athletes foot cream) is that it stops fungal issues....But it does no harm to the animal if it wasn't needed.
So, get some and apply it.
If it's fungal, itll go away...
And if it's a dogs teeth marks, a scrape or something else, it will do no harm.
I get this from the DOLLAR STORE, btw.
You can buy the expen$ive stuff. But you don't need to.
Ok, I will let her know. Thank you
 

OkAdiza

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Just for my curiosity, does the owner have a dog?
To me it looks like chew marks.
No, my friend doesn’t. The Russian is her only pet. I am not sure if the previous owner had a dog or not. They just gave him away for free because no one was taking care of it anymore.
 

ZEROPILOT

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No, my friend doesn’t. The Russian is her only pet. I am not sure if the previous owner had a dog or not. They just gave him away for free because no one was taking care of it anymore.
You (we) often see Russian torts with all sorts of injuries both cosmetic only and serious.
They LOVE to fight and are super active in general.
I don't think that your friends Russian has a serious issue.
I'm betting it'll fully recover. And quickly.
Continue to feed a correct diet and the appropriate warmth. And it'll likely heal all by itself.
 

Ink

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Cute tortoise!
 
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