Red footed tortoise- skin problem

Question
QUESTION: Hi, I have a 2 year old red foot who is the picture of health but we recently found a baby red foot who I guess is probably a few months old. He was fine but recently has developed flaky skin and smells a bit funny. His shell is still fairly soft and he is still eating and drinking o.k but he is much less active than he was previously. It's his actual skin that seems to be the problem more than his shell. We live in a hot country where they are in a run outside so they eat the weeds in the grass and we give them fresh veg like salad, tomatoes, banana etc. He loves Hibiscus and so has eaten quite a lot of that. I also recently bought some tortoise pellets to see if that helps but he's still the same.

ANSWER: Flaky skin is usually dehydration. Let it soak for about 15 minutes in clean, warm water about 1/2 as deep as the shell, and make sure it has access to humidity. It also probably needs some more calcium in its diet- the foods you listed are low in it. Egg shell, cuttle bone, human calcium tablets, or other calcium supplements.

If you live where they are wild, try to let it stay in the wild as much as possible. Wild babies with soft shells and bad smells often do not do real well.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you so much for this, it is really helpful. However later on today I noticed that the flaky skin seems to begin with sort of pale yellow small pimples on his skin. It's very humid here so I don't think that the environment is too dry for him. Could it be a fungus or something?

Answer
Ah, the fun world of skin fungi. Yes, it could be a skin fungi, and they are not fun to work with.

While a vet would be the best bet, you can try treating it with a human athelete's foot cream- use a very gentle version, like for kids, and only use a little at a time. You can also swab the skin with Betadine Solution (providone iodine) daily.