Tortoise shell wound

[Stripe]

Hi All,

I’ve noticed my horsefield tortoise has a bit of a wound on the underside of their shell as well as a bit of “dryness”.

The issue seems to be on the 2 lowest parts of the shell so I’m not sure if this is a wound from my toddler being heavy handed with them when I’ve not noticed or if it’s something more sinister like shell rot? The opposite side of their shell seems to mirror the wound with scuffs/wear.

FYI - The deformation toward the front of the shell is a result of a rat attack 3-4 years ago at my previous address where I had a fixed outside enclosure that evidently wasn’t as rat proof as I thought it was

Husbandry info:

The tortoise lives on a tortoise table at the moment after having come out of hibernation in January. I use a mercury vapour bulb on a dimming thermostat. At some point in the future I plan on changing this to a UV strip and heat bulb.

The tortoise lives outside in a big run during the day once the weather warms up and stays outside for most of the year until the nights get colder. They come inside at tea time.

This is the first year I’ve tried orchid bark as a substrate (to help reduce dust) so I’m not sure if this is a factor or not. Historically I’ve used soil/coir mix.

I supplement feeding with nutrobal.

Ive included a pic of the top of the shell as well.

Thank you in advance for any advice or help.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Hi All,

I’ve noticed my horsefield tortoise has a bit of a wound on the underside of their shell as well as a bit of “dryness”.

The issue seems to be on the 2 lowest parts of the shell so I’m not sure if this is a wound from my toddler being heavy handed with them when I’ve not noticed or if it’s something more sinister like shell rot? The opposite side of their shell seems to mirror the wound with scuffs/wear.

FYI - The deformation toward the front of the shell is a result of a rat attack 3-4 years ago at my previous address where I had a fixed outside enclosure that evidently wasn’t as rat proof as I thought it was

Husbandry info:

The tortoise lives on a tortoise table at the moment after having come out of hibernation in January. I use a mercury vapour bulb on a dimming thermostat. At some point in the future I plan on changing this to a UV strip and heat bulb.

The tortoise lives outside in a big run during the day once the weather warms up and stays outside for most of the year until the nights get colder. They come inside at tea time.

This is the first year I’ve tried orchid bark as a substrate (to help reduce dust) so I’m not sure if this is a factor or not. Historically I’ve used soil/coir mix.

I supplement feeding with nutrobal.

Ive included a pic of the top of the shell as well.

Thank you in advance for any advice or help.

View attachment 387722View attachment 387723

Hello!

This looks like a scrape to me, looking at the picture, seeing the other side, it looks like it could possible be from scraping on a rough service too much, the top layer of keratin has flaked off more on the one side, it doesn’t look like shell rot to me, it’s incredibly rare for a Russian to get a fungal infection like that, I’m curious what other folks think of the pictures though. Hang tight, I’m sure they’ll be others along with more experience soon.

In the meantime, as you’re having a lighting revamp, feel free to check out this housing thread, it covers correct equipment(uvb, heating bulbs, lighting etc), sizing(you can get away with smaller indoors if you can build a larger outdoor space when weather permits), appropriately maintaining the humidity, safe substrates, there’s lots of visual examples for everything, and a really handy diet link to check out! if you’re struggling with temperatures in the uk(I know how chilly it gets here!) sometimes open tops need to be covered, or a company called Southdown aquatics do large custom vivs!

Housing adult Russian and Hermans indoors

Hello there! In this thread I’m going to include some information an example of an appropriate indoor set up for an older Herman/russian. As much as it’s encouraged to have tortoises in a safe outdoor enclosure, I understand being from the uk myself, that some climates make it difficult to...

tortoiseforum.org

This includes lots of inspiration for an adult set up both indoors and out! The indoor bit has some good ideas to tackle indoor space whilst still providing the needed roaming room! Check comments too, I’m always adding to it

Enclosure inspiration

Howdy folks! Hope everyone is well! As you all know, I’m a big fan of making threads that cater more towards visual learners like myself, I’ve really been wanting to create a thread full of adult enclosure inspiration for a while now, I’ve managed to find some great references over time! I do...

tortoiseforum.org

Lastly, this one here is probably most important to go over and keep on hand, it’ll help you avoid the wrong bulbs, substrates, housing etc, I always encourage double checking purchases on the forum too before buying

Common keeping errors

Hello everyone! I’d been a long time lurker on this site long before joining just under a year ago now, over that time I’ve seen these husbandry issues come up time and time again, sometimes with dire consequences☹️ I thought this thread might serve as a good visual guide for these common...

tortoiseforum.org

Hope they come in handy! Welcome to the forum, always feel free to ask further questions

 

[Stripe]

Wow thanks for the comprehensive reply!
I’ll definitely take a look at those links, particularly about lighting. The tortoise table is normally only in use for about a quarter of the year but I’d still like the setup to be as good as possible for that time.

I did think it’s probably a scrape but I wanted to double check with people more knowledgeable! I imagine it could well be from my 3 year old being rough with him on our hard floors or something. He doesn’t normally interact with the tortoise unsupervised but you know what it’s like… take your eyes off them for 2 seconds and they’re doing something crazy.

What would be the treatment for a scrape if people agree that’s the case? Baths, drying and leaving alone?

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

Wow thanks for the comprehensive reply!
I’ll definitely take a look at those links, particularly about lighting. The tortoise table is normally only in use for about a quarter of the year but I’d still like the setup to be as good as possible for that time.

I did think it’s probably a scrape but I wanted to double check with people more knowledgeable! I imagine it could well be from my 3 year old being rough with him on our hard floors or something. He doesn’t normally interact with the tortoise unsupervised but you know what it’s like… take your eyes off them for 2 seconds and they’re doing something crazy.

What would be the treatment for a scrape if people agree that’s the case? Baths, drying and leaving alone?

@Yvonne G and @zovick should be able to help with next steps