# Skin condition caused by tortoise?



## CourtneyAndCarl (Nov 5, 2012)

Is there any skin condition that can be caused by tortoises? 

I have some strange skin infection that I keep going to the doctor for and they keep giving me different anti-biotics that help for that singular outbreak, but it always comes back two weeks to a month later. I tried to remember when this all started, and now that I think about it... I started having symptoms from my first outbreak less than a week after I got my tortoise.

Not saying that the answer will affect my wonderful relationship with Carl, it would just be nice to know so I could tell the doctors something and they could maybe give me a medication that actually works for once!


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## wellington (Nov 5, 2012)

Could possibly be that or the substrate. Hard to say. I have never heard of any, but it's deff possible.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Nov 5, 2012)

wellington said:


> Could possibly be that or the substrate. Hard to say. I have never heard of any, but it's deff possible.



I tried to google it and found a little bit of stuff but none of it came from reliable sources so I don't want to believe it until I hear it from someone I can trust


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## wellington (Nov 5, 2012)

Maybe you could ask your doc and tell them about Carl and the substrate you are using. They might no right away if the substrate is a popular allergen. Just a thought.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Nov 5, 2012)

wellington said:


> Maybe you could ask your doc and tell them about Carl and the substrate you are using. They might no right away if the substrate is a popular allergen. Just a thought.



They know it's some sort of infection, not an allergy, because the antibiotics do work for a little bit. The first time I went I was told it is a localized staph infection, second time it was impetigo. Both times, I was supposed to be fine after two weeks of taking antibiotics and I was for a little while.


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## wellington (Nov 5, 2012)

What kind of substrate do you use? I found quite a bit about allergens to coir


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Nov 5, 2012)

It's mostly top soil with some about 15% coir and 5% sand. I do work at a petstore though and always have my arm in a reptile habitat at work where we use coco coir and never have a direct reaction to it


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## jeninak907 (Nov 5, 2012)

Go to a Dermitologist. They could make a better decesion. I went to the doc for a skin rash and they couldnt fix it. But the dermitologist did.


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## Watsonpartyof4 (Nov 5, 2012)

CourtneyAndCarl said:


> They know it's some sort of infection, not an allergy, because the antibiotics do work for a little bit. The first time I went I was told it is a localized staph infection, second time it was impetigo. Both times, I was supposed to be fine after two weeks of taking antibiotics and I was for a little while.



Staph and impetigo are the same thing. The most important thing is to wash everything that touches the rash in hot soapy water. Do not re use any bath towels or hand towels, sweaters, shirts, gloves, etc with out washing! Did your dr give you any ointment? Such as a triple antibiotic cream? If you are worried about the staph being on your tort you could wash him with Hibiclens (chlorhexidine). You can get that at Walgreens or your local drugstore.


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## Edna (Nov 5, 2012)

Ditto on seeing a dermatologist, ditto on using triple antibiotic ointment. That stuff is awesome. Also, don't forget to boost your immune system. Fresh air, exercise, plenty of water, and vitamin C. I use this stuff called Super C 22. It's a powder that I add to orange juice. It fizzes and tastes so good that I don't care much for plain oj anymore


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## Terry Allan Hall (Nov 6, 2012)

Edna said:


> Ditto on seeing a dermatologist, ditto on using triple antibiotic ointment. That stuff is awesome. Also, don't forget to boost your immune system. Fresh air, exercise, plenty of water, and vitamin C. I use this stuff called Super C 22. It's a powder that I add to orange juice. It fizzes and tastes so good that I don't care much for plain oj anymore



Yeah, that Super C 22 is great...hard to find around here, for some reason.


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## RosieRedfoot (Nov 6, 2012)

Could it be fungal? My dog had lots of skin issues and they put him on antibiotics but once that cleared up we realized he had an underlying fungal infection (but not ringworm) as well so he was on anti fungals and topical creams for a month. I'd say ditto on the dermatologist.


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## TortoiseBoy1999 (Nov 6, 2012)

I know my friend had her RES on her stomach and she broke out in a rash there. I know RES have a Salmonella that's really REALLY bad, but maybe that happened with Carl. I don't know. I'm just throwing things out there. Hope your rash heals!


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## Laura (Nov 6, 2012)

ring worm is fungal... it could come and go if you keep getting exposed..


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## biochemnerd808 (Nov 6, 2012)

Have they done a swab test and a culture, to determine WHAT is causing the rash (bacterial or fungal etc)? It seems silly of them to assume that it is bacterial just because the antibiotics work "a little bit" - they can't know for sure if the population is being decimated unless they actually do a culture. Once they know WHAT kind of organism is causing the rash, it should be fairly easy to narrow down what the source is. 

Good luck!


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## shellysmom (Nov 7, 2012)

I'm going to agree here that just because antibiotics seem to work, doesn't mean it's entirely bacterial. Could definitely have a fungal component, in which case the antibiotics would help any type of secondary infection, but not cure it completely. It could also just be that it's a bacterial infection that's a little bit resistant to the antibiotics, so the docs should maybe change the antibiotic or prescribe it to you for a longer period of time. 

The infection itself could have come from anywhere, really. My husband is a doctor and he says the germs that cause things like that can be found in so many places, sometimes there's no way to tell when/how the exposure happened. It could be carl, or carl's substrate. It also could be from the pet store, or something else completely unrelated to animals. My suggestion is to get a second opinion from a dermatologist. Second opinions are completely underrated.


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## CourtneyAndCarl (Nov 8, 2012)

Apparently it is indeed a staph infection. The first time it was a huge bump in my nose that swelled half my face, which was staph in the form of folliculitis. Then I got one on my back WHILE I was taking anti-biotics that went away pretty well. Then I got impetigo on my lip that got so big I couldn't even talk. Now I have about twenty of them under my arm in the form of folliculitis again that are so big I can't even put my arm down all the way. Put on different antibiotics once again, yay. -_- I'm just worried for the day that the staph gets so bad I have to be hospitalized.

Can tortoises cause/catch staph?? I don't want to hurt my baby


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