Tortoise Shell - Shell rot??

[Donna Shaw]

I have been inspecting Stella's Shell today and found some marks and wondered if this is the start of Shell rot but I'm not sure? Its the lighter marks/ white circle type marks I'm concerned about. I can see them at top of her bottom scutes and also on the underneath of her Shell. Can anyone help to confirm this or put my mind at rest? There is no softness to the Shell but I know that's not always the case with Shell rot.

 

[Flanman]

Take a toothbrush or something with bristles that can scrub the shell, and try to clean it off. It might just be water or calcium staining. If this doesn't work, and I mean really doesn't work, then this is probably just regular discoloration that happens in almost all tortoises. Shell rot will not take a circular, open shape like that - It will appear in large white and black spots or envelop the entire shell. Updating us with replies on the status of these discolorations would be helpful.

 

[JoesMum]

It’s not shell rot. Just marks on the shell. They look normal to me. They may or may mot come off if scrubbed with a nailbrush. I would leave alone rather than stress out my tort about with cosmetic scrubbing

 

[Krista S]

I have been inspecting Stella's Shell today and found some marks and wondered if this is the start of Shell rot but I'm not sure? Its the lighter marks/ white circle type marks I'm concerned about. I can see them at top of her bottom scutes and also on the underneath of her Shell. Can anyone help to confirm this or put my mind at rest? There is no softness to the Shell but I know that's not always the case with Shell rot.

This is completely normal and nothing to worry about. As far as I know, nobody really knows what causes it. Some believe it to be calcium working its way through the shell. With my Hermann’s tortoise I noticed a bunch of the squiggly marks appear right before a growth spurt. Don’t know if that’s a coincidence or not, but as he’s grown, the squiggles are starting to become less and less. Either way, it is nothing to be concerned about.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Yep
Just scuff marks.
Shell fungus has the consistency of hard cheese.