Shell rot in red footed tortoise due 2 incorrect environment

[sarah]

Here is my new male, due to being kept very dry and sitting in his own wee. His shell is quite damaged. He is 12 inches long

[Dandelion]

That looks painful. A good warm bath and a fresh healthy meal would do good. I'm glad his in your hands now.

[egyptiandan64]

It looks mostly healed Sarah, just have to watch the outer edges of the plastral scutes. Hard to tell but that might be still healing. I'm glad you have him now.

Danny

[sarah]

I have had him for a while now. So have treated him, he was worse than this.
Thanks for your comments xx

[linda]

im very pleased he is with you

what is sad about this torts shell is that this was completely avoidable if the correct husbandry had been given by the previous owner

[EJ]

A common mistake is keeping a species we believe should be kept moist, under too moist conditions without the option of choice. This is really common with redfoots. These animals come from relatively dry areas that have frequent rainfall but the areas are really dry between rainfalls.

Originally Posted by sarah

Here is my new male, due to being kept very dry and sitting in his own wee. His shell is quite damaged. He is 12 inches long

[piglet]

My redfoots are all kept on a moist substrate and never suffer any shell rot at all,

Redfoots cover a huge area most of tropical South America with a huge variation in habitats from dense wet forests to open semi dryish grasslands

Sarah yours shows typical decay caused by siting in amonia soaked substrate

D

[EJ]

Every successfully kept group of redfoots I've ever seen were kept in such a manner that they were regullarly sprayed down but the upper surface of the substrate was always dry on my observation.

I'm willing to bet if you kept the upper substrate constantly moist you not only would get the shell rot pictured but you'd also have a heck of a problem with various tiny bugs.

Originally Posted by piglet

My redfoots are all kept on a moist substrate and never suffer any shell rot at all,

Redfoots cover a huge area most of tropical South America with a huge variation in habitats from dense wet forests to open semi dryish grasslands

Sarah yours shows typical decay caused by siting in amonia soaked substrate

D

[ossypete]

my baby enclosure has a permanently moist substrate and they thrive in it. Same with my adult group too they are lovely and damp. sarah i think my rehomer male was kept similarly to you as he had some shell rot on his underside like yours but just not as bad. after a few months of tlc and some regular descaling of the dead and decaying keratin he is ok now. looks a bit of a mess but in time i am sure will be ok.

[sarah]

Originally Posted by EJ

A common mistake is keeping a species we believe should be kept moist, under too moist conditions without the option of choice. This is really common with redfoots. These animals come from relatively dry areas that have frequent rainfall but the areas are really dry between rainfalls.

Here we go again so your saying we should not keep red foots moist? yes i understand that they come from a vast area.

This male was a import and the guy who had him before me said, that this rot happened while in his care. They were kept on beech chippings kept dry in a small vivarium.