there is a short tan worm on my tortoise! URGENT!

crispypennies

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Aug 15, 2024
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Hello,

I was just feeding my tortoise his food when i found that there was something on the side of his shell. I initially thought it was a tomato seed because there was a clear dry film around it with a small tan thing inside. I tried getting it off of him with a napkin but the only thing that i was able to move was the "seed". It looked a little too long to be a tomato seed so i started panicking. Both the clear film and the worm are still on him. The worm hasn't moved at all on its own. Im not sure if it came from his poop but it doesnt look like the typical worms that were described when i looked up what it could be. There only seems to be 1 worm, though. I am still panicking because this has never happened before and I can't find an answer for it. My tortoise is 3 years old, turning 4 this year, and i've never seen this. I need help!
 

wellington

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I don't but someone will. I would take it off though. It looks like it's on the growth area between the two scutes. That's a softer area as that's where new growth comes from.
 

crispypennies

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It might be some type of a leech. Strange it is on the shell rather than on soft tissue, but it still looks leech-like to me. Put salt on it and hopefully it will dry it up and make it come off.
It seemed to have come off pretty easy my second time trying to remove it (i just used a napkin). I observed it a bit more and it seemed dry and inanimate. Im more than certain that its dead, but i dont even know if it was even alive in the first place. this is strange to me because I don't know what would have caused it to be dead, especially since critters like this are usually found alive...??
 

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