# Tortoise smells funny... and is there something wrong with his leg?



## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

So I was bathing my redfoot tonight and I noticed that he was peeing/pooping a lot of stuff on my hand... I'm not sure what it is but it was very watery. To my knowledge, this has not happened before. Did he just eat something bad? 

Also, I checked out his legs today (never done it before) and I'm not sure if these look normal to me... here they are:














does that general colour look right to anybody. I might be overreacting a bit but I just want to make sure... the dark spot on his skin I have no idea about, it's probably nothing, I touched a tissue to it and nothing came off. I also took a whiff of his legs and he had a bit of a fishy smell...

The tortoise itself seems to be doing great. He's eating well, active, all that stuff. I'm just concerned about his legs, maybe for no good reason at all.


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## tortadise (May 28, 2014)

Looks like a wound that has sealed up. The fishy smell could mean infection. I'd scrub it with disinfectant 2-3 times a day and rub some triple antibiotic ointment on it. Keep a a close eye on it. If it's sealed up completely then the infection (if infected) could lead to internal necrosis and sepsis, which would be very bad. May want to keep,the little guy on paper towels during this routine too. If it shows no signs of improvement I would seek a vets advice.


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## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

I have polysporin and betadine... do any of those work?


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## tortadise (May 28, 2014)

Beta dine works well for a pre opening of a wound. But it's not good to get inside of one if there still is an opening, which could be possible just can't see it. I would use hydrogen peroxide on it first and see if it bubbles. If it does then scrub with chlorohexadine instead. Betadine can also kill blood cells inhibiting the coagulation of sealing the wound properly. So better not to use betadine in this situation of too many unknowns.


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## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

tortadise said:


> Beta dine works well for a pre opening of a wound. But it's not good to get inside of one if there still is an opening, which could be possible just can't see it. I would use hydrogen peroxide on it first and see if it bubbles. If it does then scrub with chlorohexadine instead. Betadine can also kill blood cells inhibiting the coagulation of sealing the wound properly. So better not to use betadine in this situation of too many unknowns.



okay got it... would there be a possibility that the discoloration is just that, a discoloration? What about using polysporin? It's similar to neosporin. 

Also, A vet is pretty much out of the question unfortunately  I live in a pretty small city and there's no vets here familiar with tortoises


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## tortadise (May 28, 2014)

Yeah it's about the same. Could be a discoloration. But that means your tortoise smells like fish then haha. Does it fold and seem to be same as the other skin on his leg? Or does it feel like a scab at all?


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## dmmj (May 28, 2014)

I can't put my finger on it but the legs look weird to me ( not an expert), Funny or bad smelling poop could be parasites, watery poop could be diarrhea, what's his diet like?


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## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

tortadise said:


> Yeah it's about the same. Could be a discoloration. But that means your tortoise smells like fish then haha. Does it fold and seem to be same as the other skin on his leg? Or does it feel like a scab at all?


it feels the exact same as the other parts of his skin, and when I rub it nothing comes off. It also folds as well


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## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

tortadise said:


> Yeah it's about the same. Could be a discoloration. But that means your tortoise smells like fish then haha. Does it fold and seem to be same as the other skin on his leg? Or does it feel like a scab at all?


it feels the exact same as the other parts of his skin, and when I rub it nothing comes off. It also folds as well


dmmj said:


> I can't put my finger on it but the legs look weird to me ( not an expert), Funny or bad smelling poop could be parasites, watery poop could be diarrhea, what's his diet like?


I feed him lettuce, mustard greens, dandelion greens, arugula, stuff like that. and he had a solid bowel movement earlier today


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## Yvonne G (May 28, 2014)

I know that we've been beaten down to the nubs throughout our lifetimes to not pick that scab!!! However, when it comes to smelly injuries, it is perfectly ok to pick a scab. Do what Tortadise suggests, with the addition of trying to pick off the top layer so that the medication can get inside and kill off any bacteria that might be growing in there. If it doesn't 'pick' then it might just be his coloring. Don't force it, just gently try to pick it off.


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## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

Yvonne G said:


> I know that we've been beaten down to the nubs throughout our lifetimes to not pick that scab!!! However, when it comes to smelly injuries, it is perfectly ok to pick a scab. Do what Tortadise suggests, with the addition of trying to pick off the top layer so that the medication can get inside and kill off any bacteria that might be growing in there. If it doesn't 'pick' then it might just be his coloring. Don't force it, just gently try to pick it off.


will try that now!


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## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

okay I think that's just his natural colouration... it's definitely not a closed wound. So that part is solved. Any other reason for the diarrhea and fishy smell?


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## Yvonne G (May 28, 2014)

Have you been feeding any animal protein?


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## byviolet (May 28, 2014)

no  is that a problem? I just had a thread earlier asking what kinds of animal protein to feed him


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## Yvonne G (May 28, 2014)

No, reason I asked is that animal protein smells pretty bad when it comes out the other end. Especially cat food.


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## tortadise (May 28, 2014)

Well it's good you don't have to treat the "wound" anymore now. Ha. Not sure on the fishy smell though. Especially if no protein has been fed. Hmmmm


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## AmRoKo (Jun 1, 2014)

I don't know if its the same in reptiles as in humans but.... In females a fishy smell normally means a vaginal infection.


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