White dots on shell??

Status
Not open for further replies.

anniiie321

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
27
Hello,

I have a female red-footed tortoise, about 3 years old. So far, she has been perfectly healthy as far as i can tell.. behaving and eating normally. About 3 or 4 months ago a little white spot appeared on the back of her shell. I posted a photo here as a side question to another thread and a few people suggested it may be shell rot or the beginnings of a colour change? So i started to put athletes foot cream on the spot (in case it was shell rot) but it slowly became larger. Recently i have noticed two more spots on the left side of her shell. They are not on the same row of the shell as the back spot was so i am just posting these photos hoping someone can confirm what they are and if i should worry about them. I have tried poking at them or picking at them and they seeeem slightly softer than her regular shell, but i also may just be imagining. At one point it seemed that she reacted to it but i think she was just wondering why i was picking at her shell :p I hope it is nothing serious and I hope someone can help!

The bottom photo is the first spot on the back of the shel and the top photo is a side view. You can really only see one spot because the other emerging one is so small.
Dot.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
S

Scooter

Guest
I can only see one picture and from what I can see I would guess it is new growth, though I am not 100% sure on that. Hopefully this bumps it up so someone more knowledgeable will see it and comment.
 

zesty_17

Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Apr 23, 2011
Messages
414
Location (City and/or State)
Florida
what kind of cream are you using for treating it? The vets I talk to recommend 2% miconazole as the active ingredient for shell fungus. I hope it is just shell growth & not rot, my experience with shell rot is limited, but I have used both the cream & a nolvasan(chlorehexidine) solution combined with soft scrubbing with pretty good success. Generally, i saw reduction in the white spots in a matter of weeks. You can buy chlorehexidine/nolvasan otc at most drug stores.
 

anniiie321

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
27
zesty_17 said:
what kind of cream are you using for treating it? The vets I talk to recommend 2% miconazole as the active ingredient for shell fungus. I hope it is just shell growth & not rot, my experience with shell rot is limited, but I have used both the cream & a nolvasan(chlorehexidine) solution combined with soft scrubbing with pretty good success. Generally, i saw reduction in the white spots in a matter of weeks. You can buy chlorehexidine/nolvasan otc at most drug stores.

I just checked the athletes foot cream i was using an it is 1% tolnaftate... i guess that is not what i should be using! I will go out and buy the new cream today. It wont hurt if it is only shell growth right? and if it goes away I will know it was shell rot.
 

Hustler

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Mar 24, 2011
Messages
383
Location (City and/or State)
Alberta Canada Eh
is it possible its a nick from something with an edge in its enclosure?
I had a box turtle that kept knocking into a rock i had in its tank that had similar white spots, took it out and it cleared up on its own.
 

cdmay

Well-Known Member
10 Year Member!
Joined
Feb 1, 2008
Messages
1,945
Location (City and/or State)
Somewhere in Florida
Anniiie321----The white patch on the carapace of your tortoise is nothing more than a random spot lacking black pigment.
Individual animals from some races of red-foot possess more of these patches than others but regardless, it is perfectly normal, common and harmless. It may eventually become black like the rest of the carapace or it may remain as an off white 'beauty mark'.
There is no reason to treat it with any antifungal creams.
 

anniiie321

New Member
5 Year Member
Joined
Nov 19, 2010
Messages
27
cdmay said:
Anniiie321----The white patch on the carapace of your tortoise is nothing more than a random spot lacking black pigment.
Individual animals from some races of red-foot possess more of these patches than others but regardless, it is perfectly normal, common and harmless. It may eventually become black like the rest of the carapace or it may remain as an off white 'beauty mark'.
There is no reason to treat it with any antifungal creams.

Okay, thank you so much :) And thanks everyone for your input!
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Top