Shell rot

[kai-tortoise]

Hey I'm new to the whole tortoise thing . I have a 2-3 year old horsefield tortoise and I'm concerned he has some shell rot ? Could anybody help

 

[hunterk997]

Did you get him from Petco/Petsmart? His shell looks like a wild-caught's shell. I don't see any rot.

 

[T33's Torts]

Also wild caught my last rescue has a rough shell with healing rot. He came from PetSmart, but looks NOTHING like yours. I actually really your tortoise's pattern.

 

[biochemnerd808]

It's hard to tell from your pictures whether this is active shell rot, or old healing shell rot. But shell rot is definitely included in this equation.

To be on the safe side, this is what I would do:
-scrub the shell, top and bottom, really well with warm water and an old toothbrush.
-swab the shell with diluted iodine tincture. I buy it at Walgreens for $3ish, and dilute it 1 part iodine into 3 parts water. Then I dip a cotton ball in it, and thoroughly swab the shell. If the legs look like they might have had fungus (missing scales are often an indicator), you can swab the legs too.
-let it dry.
-rinse the tortoise under warm water
-smear the whole shell (top and bottom) with foot fungus cream (active ingredient clotrimazole, available in the human foot fungus cream section of any drugstore). It shouldn't be so much that the shell looks white. Apply cream 2x per day for 2 weeks. Make sure you rinse the tortoise well under running water before soaking it.

This treatment will knock out any active shell rot. Tortoise shells do heal, it will likely take several years though.

Ps: The iodine tincture treatment can make the urates turn brown for a few days. That is ok.

 

[kai-tortoise]

Hey I'm from England but I got him from a reptile shop

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Il try to post some better pictures later

 

[hunterk997]

It's also important to point out, shell rot usually is on the bottom part of the shell. It's extremely uncommon to be on the top.

 

[Jlant85]

Base on the first and second picture, it looks like overgrowth to me... not rot...

 

[kai-tortoise]

He also has it on the bottom of his shell?

 

[justino4444]

What is the cause of shell rot and how can a tortoise "get" it?

 

[Tom]

I don't see shell rot. I see a wild caught tortoise that had a rough trip to the shop. Nothing to do about it really. In time it will become less noticeable.


Shell rot is not typical for Russians. Its more commonly seen in redfoot tortoises that are constantly kept on wet substrate.

 

[kezilulu]

My li'l man was the same, a bit bashed on the shell and he was bought in England from a reptile shop.
Even though it's still there after having him two months I can see a subtle difference in his shell so I would imagine you'll notice that it gets less pronounced the longer you have him/love him lol
Here's a couple of Sheldon playing where you can see his battle scars
xXx

 

[biochemnerd808]

@kezilulu, on your tortoise it looks like the lost keratin might go beyond the 'normal' wear and tear of a wild-caught tortoise. It looks like there may still be something active going on. There seems to be more exposed bone than I would expect in a 'healthy' wild tortoise. They get banked up, but I would expect the wear to mostly be in the older growth, not in the new growth. Something is going on here...

My li'l man was the same, a bit bashed on the shell and he was bought in England from a reptile shop.
Even though it's still there after having him two months I can see a subtle difference in his shell so I would imagine you'll notice that it gets less pronounced the longer you have him/love him lol
Here's a couple of Sheldon playing where you can see his battle scars
xXx

 

[kezilulu]

He's been to the vets since I got him and they said it looked fine/would slowly heal with time they weren't worried about it?
What might it be/what should I be looking out for?
xXx

 

[kai-tortoise]

Little sheldon is so adorable and thanks for the advice everyone c