skin darkening

[jsphr90]

Recently the skin on my little ones head has gotten very dark, should I be concerned or is this normal? He is still very active and eating well. And I don't think he's getting burned from the light, I have a repti sun 100watt mvb, about 12-16 inches from the substrate above his enclosure as reccomended...help!

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Just had another thought, could it be bruising from running into the walls of the tank? I know people reccomend covering it to prevent that but I did that when I first got him and he did it just as much -___- smart little bugger

 

[HLogic]

Assuming you mean the Leopard, can you describe the darkening in more detail? A picture would be helpful, as well.

 

[jsphr90]

Well his head and a little bit of his neck aren't yellow anymore, its turning brown

 

[coreyc]

How old is he ? can you post a pic

 

[Kristina]

Are you sure it isn't just dirty? My little tortoises are ALWAYS filthy. I use a soft brush once a week to scrub all the mud/dirt/bits of substrate off them (allows me to make sure there is no food or anything stuck to them, and make sure they don't develop sores or shell rot) but they don't like their heads scrubbed, so they are generally pretty dirty.

 

[jsphr90]

I got him in July and the owner of the reptile shop where I got him said he was 4 months, so that would make him...about ten months(?) He looks kinda small to me for almost being a yearling, and I did just change his substrate to coco husk, I'll have to try scrubbing him. Pic coming soon.

 

[Yvonne G]

The coco coir does tend to dye the skin.

 

[jsphr90]

The tfo app on my phone won't let me upload a pic. So I guess I'm gonna go with that the substrate is dying the skin since he is acting like a healthy tort...If by chance he starts acting strange I'll make another thread