Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got a CB Burmese Black mountain from Vic Morgan last May. The
Tortoise is about 2 years old now and I live outside of San
Francisco in the mtns and have a large indoor enclosure for (I'll
call the tortoise a her) the tortoise, with good high humidity, air
flow and an average temp of 70 at night and 80 daily.She eats well
(collard greens, squash, yams,and all that) She has a hide
in the enclosure which she likes and she also has a small pond she
spends alot of time in.I will be moving to Southern Florida in 06 and
I know she will love it there.

An issue I have is that the top of her head seems dry and has a
cracked look, no peeling or anything other than dry looking. Its hard
to touch her head, unless she is pulsing her throat and very happy,so
I cannot apply anthing to it. I try to spritz her head but thats
spoty. Is that normal or an issue
Terry

...small moving-parts tend to dry out quicker...

>>I got a CB Burmese Black mountain from Vic Morgan last May. The
>>Tortoise is about 2 years old now and I live outside of San
>>Francisco in the mtns and have a large indoor enclosure for (I'll
>>call the tortoise a her) the tortoise, with good high humidity, air
>>flow and an average temp of 70 at night and 80 daily.She eats well
>>(collard greens, squash, yams,and all that) She has a hide
>>in the enclosure which she likes and she also has a small pond she
>>spends alot of time in.I will be moving to Southern Florida in 06 and
>>I know she will love it there.
>>
>>An issue I have is that the top of her head seems dry and has a
>>cracked look, no peeling or anything other than dry looking. Its hard
>>to touch her head, unless she is pulsing her throat and very happy,so
>>I cannot apply anthing to it. I try to spritz her head but thats
>>spoty. Is that normal or an issue
>>Terry
>>

Our redfoot has the same issue, although we've also had trouble keeping the humidity high enough. We consulted with our local tortoise club and with our vet, and we decided that it wasn't a big concern. We've upped his soakings to daily 10-minute baths in warm water, just to keep him hydrated, and everything seems okay.

If I ever figure out a way to treat that specific top of the head problem, I'll let you know!