white head

[captronk]

My kids Redfoot's head has turned white in the 3 weeks since we got it, just the top. What does that mean? Also does it have "pyrimiding"? Is that bad? Is it normal? Is it diet or other habitat conditions? Is it ok to put vegetable oil on the shell? Is it ok to wash the shell with what kind of soap. LMK.

 

[GingerLove]

The head looks fine, and yes, your tortoise is pyramiding. It' snot super horrible, you may want to make your tort's enclosure a bit more humid. Also, if you soak your tortoise in warm water a couple of times a week, it should help the pyramiding go down. I don't know about vegetable oil or soap, though, sorry.

 

[mike taylor]

It's being kept too dry . He needs humidity about 80% . Mist him/ her daily. Then the color should come back .

 

[captronk]

hot, humid and dark.

 

[wellington]

Not dark, hot and humid though. Check out the RF caresheet. Also no soap and I don't think veggie oil is good either. You can try what's called vita shell but getting the correct conditions in its enclosure will be best

 

[wellington]

hot, humid and dark.

Not dark. They should still have light with UVB. The tube florescent ones are best for RF. Please give your light if you are keeping it in the dark!

 

[Yvonne G]

It looks like your tortoise is being kept too dry. Please read the care sheets and take a look at the
Tortoise Library . There's a lot of good info on RF tortoises in there.

 

[lisa127]

If his head is white the air is too dry in his enclosure. Is the enclosure open on top. As for the dark thing, I think what was meant is not overly bright lighting. A long tube uvb flourescent is all the visible light needed. There should be a dimmer area to retreat to. In other words not real bright like a sulcata or leopard would like.

 

[cmacusa3]

The head looks fine, and yes, your tortoise is pyramiding. It' snot super horrible, you may want to make your tort's enclosure a bit more humid. Also, if you soak your tortoise in warm water a couple of times a week, it should help the pyramiding go down. I don't know about vegetable oil or soap, though, sorry.

Actually soaking won't make the pyramiding go down but may stop it from getting worse, that damage is already done.

Looks like this one is being kept dry and probably could use daily soaks for a while.

Do not use vegetable oil on the shell.

 

[GingerLove]

Actually soaking won't make the pyramiding go down but may stop it from getting worse, that damage is already done.

Looks like this one is being kept dry and probably could use daily soaks for a while.

Do not use vegetable oil on the shell.

Oooh... okay, thanks for clarifying!

 

[jockma]

Do NOT use soap. There's something called Vita-Shell that some folks use on their torts to make the shell sparkly and vibrant but it's purely cosmetic as far as I know and will not help with the real problem (dehydration)

This is a humidity issue. Soak him and he should regain some color, but in my experience it takes at least a few days of high (75%+) humidity for a complete recovery. He might also feel pretty light because he's dehydrated, he could be much heavier after a soak because he absorbed some much needed moisture.