my russian tortise has little friut fly size bugs that go in and out of his shell, is this normal?

Answer 1

Please clean the tank and tortoise ASAP!
- get rid of old substrate
- wash everything in the tank with diluted bleach
- soak the tortoise in warm, salty water, barely covering the shell (normally a soak is not that deep, but this time, it has to be
- gently scrub off any dirt found, try to check for anything in the shell- old fruit (unlikely) or an injury (more likely)

Flies lay eggs in injured areas, and can even create the injury. Bot flies commonly lay eggs under the skin of box turtles and tortoises- this may not be that, but it sure sounds like bot flies to me!

If you see a wound, treat it with Betadine Solution (if the tortoise pulls its neck in, just dry to drizzle the stuff so it works its way down his neck). Repeat 2-3 times a day. If the wound is open, try to smear it with antibiotic ointment.

http://www.tortoisetrust.org for more info on this and other tortoises.

Answer 2

As the other person said, it is possible that there is rotting food or some kind of injury under your tortoise's shell that is attracting the flies. Flies in the cage are never good, they are very dirty and can cause infection if they are in an open wound. Soak the animal in some clean warm water for a bit and gently rub off any dirt you find. Once he is clean and dry you will better be able to see what might be under the shell. If he is injured there are some nice products for tortoises that you can get at the pet store. Sulfa dip is made especially for turtles and tortoises, you mix it with water and soak the animal in it. It cleans everything out and prevents bacteria and infection. There is also a product called repti wound healing aid that you can put on it if it is some sort of cut to help the skin heal as they have delicate skin. You should also do a thorough cleaning of the cage and replace the bedding. Clean the inside of the cage with some very mild bleach water and clean all of his decorations, bowls, etcetera with it as well. Hope everything is okay!!! I added the websites for those two products for you. OMG, I almost forgot! I thought you wrote fruit flies. If the bugs aren't fruit flies it is possible that the tortoise has mites which are very uncomfortable. There are mite sprays at most pet stores for reptiles you would still want to clean the animal and the cage and then spray both him AND his cage with the spray. I had it once on my chameleon, it was yucky, but the spray worked really well. It had cloves in it, it smelled nice too.

Answer 3

No! It is NOT normal! He probably has a piece of fruit stuck between his shell and his skin. It can cause a nasty skin infection if it stays there, besides that it's uncomfortable. Try to look under his shell and try to clean it out. I will bet you that if you look, there is something there.

If there isn't, look for a cut in his skin. The bugs could be laying eggs in his skin if there is a cut. If that's the case, just clean it out with some alcohol, and put some betadine on it. Try to keep it clean and everything should be ok.

If neither of those are the case, then I don't know what could be wrong. But, but bugs mean that something is not right. Bugs are NOT normal!

Hope that this helps. :)

Answer 4

Hello..wow, don't think so, but am no expert on turtles..might try searching for turtle rescue sites for that answer is your best bet, most rescuers are the most knowledgable about what they rescue... kinda sadly.. I know there are turtle rescuers/sites...Take Care :)