White spots on tortoise- does it look like shell rot?

[LukasLangset]

Hey guys! First-time poster.

This is my tortoise, Edward. I've owned him for 13 years, with him being 14 years old. He's a Russian stepping tortoise, and has been free-roaming in my house for his whole life. He naturally got his own habitat in the corner of our house, but he can walk freely in and out. We also take him outside to enjoy the sun during the summer.

Recently I've seen a white spot on one of his chutes. It's not soft and it doesn't smell anything in particular, however since he is free-roaming, I thought maybe he could have contracted something. What do you guys think? Does it look like shell rot? Should I take him to the vet? NOTE: Here in Norway, we only got one tortoise specialisist. We recently took him to the vet for some parasites in his poop, and that was crazy expensive. I can't remember if the chute was white then as well.

He also recently got this string-like thing on his shell. I scrubbed it off during one of his baths, all though some is still left. Does it look like anything in particular?

Kind regards,
Lukas

 

[wellington]

Looks like something on him like caulking. Try rubbing it off.

 

[Littleredfootbigredheart]

The lower scute looks like the keratin has been scrapped off on something😣I don’t think the stringy white thing is a worry, looks like something dripped on him or something..

There are a few things I think you might appreciate a heads up on!

Adult tortoises need a safe and secure enclosure that meets all their environmental and roaming needs, an adult Russian needs at least an 8x4 foot enclosure, in your case perhaps a room sized set up?
Don’t think they can get away with smaller if allowed to free roam, I’d highly discourage indoor free roams, being away from their heat source means they’re being exposed to temperatures that are too low quite often, smooth surfaces like laminate flooring will wreak absolute havoc on their hip joints over time. Those nails look on the longer side, it could be because he isn’t wearing them down on appropriate surfaces.

There’s just numerous reasons it isn’t a good idea unfortunately, harmful floor cleaners, foreign objects being swallowed, getting stuck under things they shouldn’t like shelving or sofas, which could have caused the scrape you’re seeing, low temperatures, no uv, getting hit by doors, one member has mentioned they knew someone who’s tort got their head crushed in a door jam😣, flipping hazards, smooth services, the list goes on and is endless.
They don’t have the reasoning skills to understand why they aren’t feeling comfortable in their environment, all they know is they want to explore, but the discomfort is there, our homes do not mimic the outdoors.
They feel most comfortable and safe in a space that best mimics their natural environment, so an appropriate sized enclosure is always the ultimate goal, hopefully we can help🥰

I’m going to include some information below on an example of an appropriate indoor set up, it includes the correct levels and equipment etc, including the appropriate indoor uv, hopefully it inspires you!❤️

Basking light should be an incandescent floodlight(example attached) on a 12 hour timer.

Basking temperature directly under the floodlight should be 95-100f. The rest of the enclosure should be ranging 75-80 during the day.

You may also wish to add ambient lighting on the same timer, providing shady areas with hides and safe plants.

Then CHE/CHE’s(ceramic heat emitters) always on a thermostat, for night heat if your house drops below 60’s at night. Set the thermostat for a night temperature place the probe in their cooler end, plug the che into it and the thermostat into the mains, it’ll be plugged in 24/7 but will only turn on when the temperature drops. If in a cooler climate you may need these.

Indoor Uv should be a t5 fluorescent tube, avoid the compact and coil uv bulbs, they don’t give out enough uv and can hurt the tortoises eyes. The uv can be on a 4 hour timer from noon. I’ve attached examples of the two brands to go for and some examples of how to mount them. I’d personally recommend the Arcadia because it comes with the reflector fitting👍

With lighting always avoid anything labelled halogen or mercury vapour.

For substrates, either coco coir, dampened and packed down by hand as a base, with a layer of orchid(fir not pine) bark or forest floor on top, or just the orchid bark/forest floor. Never use anything with sand mixed in, no top soils and no kinds of moss. The problem with top soil is unless you’ve composted it yourself, you don’t know what kind of plants have gone into it, it could be something toxic. Sand can irritate the eyes and be an impaction risk, moss is an impaction risk too.

You want to aim to have the bottom layer of substrate damp, to do this pour lukewarm water into the corners, not loads but enough to dampen the entire bottom layer. To stop that top layer getting a little too dry/dusty, mix the substrate now n then. Check your monitors and substrate to do the pours as and when needed. I’d have digital monitors that measure both temp and humidity.

I’d personally recommend you make your own base to go as big as you possibly can for the space you have, roaming room is vital for tortoise health, it aids in digestion and builds muscle strength. The closer you can get to an 8x4 size the better. But now he probably has quite the wanderlust lol! I’d go bigger😊

When making your base, just make sure the material is safe, some use flower beds, or take a large bookcase, take out the shelves and lie flat, or just make their own, for all these options I’d line with cheap pond liner to protect the base, making sure the liner goes up the sides too and make sure those sides are deep enough! They can be professional escape artists😂
You could even section of a huge portion of your room, put pond lining down and substrate, then make stands over it all, something kind of like the last photo, just be wary it’s only an example to give an idea, there’s things in the enclosure set up itself I wouldn’t recommend, like the dish and the fact it looks like they’ve used a top soil, the wooden logs stood out of shot look pointless too and obviously appropriate lighting needs hanging over it securely. I’d also be cautious of it being by windows, they could cause it to overheat, if there’s windows I’d keep blinds down and shut on sunny days.

I’ve also included examples of stands people make/buy to hang their lighting, use a temperature gun to determine how high the basking bulb needs to be, the uv I suggested needs to be mounted 18-20 inches from the substrate.

For a water dish a shallow terracotta saucer is considered safest, they have grip in the event your tortoise flips themselves, most pet store options are a known hazard.

I’d also always recommend getting your hands on a temp gun, they’re SO handy when setting up a new environment or for checking your monitors are correct🙂

Also you may find this link below useful for some food ideas! you can buy seeds online and plant in organic soil(free of chemicals) in a planter the tortoises don’t have access to, and forage from them as they grow😊

The Tortoise Table - Home

The Tortoise Table plant database and resource site for Tortoise owners

www.thetortoisetable.org.uk

Hope to see you stick around! Any further questions please ask🥰

 

[The_Four_Toed_Edward]

Welcome to the forum from Finland!

I agree with everything said by previous porters.

By the way, my male Russian tortoise is also named Edward! ☺️