Baby sulcata Broken claws and leg scales

Raywood

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So, I’ve had this little guy for about a month and a half. Steadily gaining weight and is becoming more active and eats everyday.
I give it calcium with vit-d3 and vitmamins 3 times a week mixed in with grasses/ veggies and Mazuri/zoo med grassland pellets that I moisten. His Humidity is good in a 50 gallon container and heat and uv are also good. Already went through all the suggestions last month and have updated everything that I needed to. He became healthier after that. However, He’s lost a toe nail already within the last few weeks. I just noticed there is another one bent backwards. They both are on the same foot.

There isn’t anything for him to get his nails caught on. Some of The spikes on his legs seem to be lifting up as well.
I’ve included a picture of his shell as well, because he has always has these dimple like waves across it.

Is it time to take him to a vet?
 

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Tom

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That is not normal and it indicates a problem somewhere.

How wet is the substrate? What substrate are you using?

Where did you get the tortoise?
 

Raywood

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Using repti- bark and it’s not not too wet. It’s misted down twice a day. Humidity levels are stable and I soak him for 20 mins a day in 85-95 degree water as well.

Figuring metabolic bone disease could be a play here. I got him from a store in Oregon that mainly deals in salt water aquariums, and when I saw him he didn’t look healthy.
 

mastershake

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anytime someone mentions toenails missing i had to ask the big question. are there ANY yellowish spots of skin, or any type of small bumps anywhere either a crusty yellow or white ish type of color? i do agree with tom though something is not right there.
 

Raywood

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That is not normal and it indicates a problem somewhere.

How wet is the substrate? What substrate are you using?

Where did you get the tortoise?
I am starting to think it’s metabolic bone disease.
 

Raywood

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anytime someone mentions toenails missing i had to ask the big question. are there ANY yellowish spots of skin, or any type of small bumps anywhere either a crusty yellow or white ish type of color? i do agree with tom though something is not right there.
Hey there, nope, there are no spots or discolorations.
 

mastershake

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if there are no other signs of aw then im more leaning either to something going on in the setup (and i mean no offense by that but everyone here would be glad to go over that all with you) or its possible they may have some issues from being improperly started out of the egg which sadly happens more times than people think. can you give lots of overall details of your setup? include temps, humidity %, pics etc maybe something might be noticed a second set of eyes is always a good thing imo. some of the members here including myself have nearly 30+ years experience with them and they will not steer you the wrong way. do keep an eye out for those spots sometimes they dont show up right away let's cross fingers and pray that is not it but do continue to keep an eye out for them. the toenail thing is the only reason i say that it happens on almost every single one who has austwickia.
 

Tom

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I am starting to think it’s metabolic bone disease.
MBD causes softening of the shell, and weakening of the bones which manifests as difficulty walking, or dragging the back legs around. I've not seen a case of MBD where toenails fall out. I've seen toenails fall out when bacterial infections are present.

Misting the substrate doesn't do anything. It just dries up and evaporates quickly. To keep the substrate properly damp, you need to dump water into the substrate. How much ad how often varies with each enclosures. To get humidity up and maintain it at appropriate levels for a baby sulcata, you need a closed chamber.
 

mastershake

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ill add i agree with tom this is not from mbd, ill also add besides bacterial ive also seen fungal cause nails to fall out as well.
 

biochemnerd808

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anytime someone mentions toenails missing i had to ask the big question. are there ANY yellowish spots of skin, or any type of small bumps anywhere either a crusty yellow or white ish type of color? i do agree with tom though something is not right there.
What would these symptoms indicate? I know bearded dragon keepers sometimes deal with this, I think a fungal infection, but was not aware of it being a thing in tortoises.
 

mastershake

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in torts this can very much indicate what is the austwickia bacterial infection. dragons can also catch it from them just like ANY other reptiles. snakes lizards etc. this is not the same thing as yellow fungus which is more common in dragons.
 

Raywood

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So, update. I was able to get him into a reptile veterinarian.

This was their finding. His toe nails are still falling off and they believe that he had an infection at one point. But doesn't currently have one. I asked them to give him some fluid as well because I was worried about dehydration. He steadily gaining weight and has energy. Below is what the vet wrote:

"Consultation - Urgent Care We evaluated your young Sulcata tortoise Nugget today for a general health assessment, also focusing on the toenail loss that has occurred at his right front foot's 2nd and 5th nails (and the left rear 1st nail which is bent at a 90-degree angle and might be lost in the future), and his hydration status, and bone integrity. We believe it is unlikely he is currently suffering from nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (the most common type of "metabolic bone disease") since his muscles are strong and his shell feels firm enough for his age. However, it is possible that the digit bones that are the base of toenail growth dissolved away in his first month of life (due to lack of calcium intake and exposure to appropriate UVB light), in which case the nail would not have any base to attach to or grow from, therefore falling off.

Another possible reason for the nails to fall off would be if he had experienced a wave of severe bacterial infection early in his life, which caused blood clots to form at his extremities, then gangrene of sorts. Based on his current bright and strong appearance, it is unlikely he went through serious illness like that already in his short life. We do suspect he is a bit dehydrated based on the prominent neck skin wrinkles, so we gave a dose of fluid support by injection under the skin of both sides of his neck today. At home, we recommend providing several "kiddie pool" areas of shallow water that he can walk in and out of, offering his food in those, so when he gets bites of food they are maximally wetted.

He will only take in water through his mouth, not through his vent. "Tepid" (not feeling especially warm or cool to the touch when you put your hand in it) temperature water is best for soaking reptiles and encouraging them to drink. We agree that exercise is a great thing for Nugget, assuming that his enclosure or exercise area does not contain major hazards e.g. cliffs he might fall from. He is showing slightly puffy gray skin at the rear end near his tail. This might be consistent with edema from low protein in his blood, or maybe a visual artifact since his skin is shedding so frequently as he grows rapidly. His tongue should be a pink color like yours, not pale, not red. He did not allow us to see his tongue today. Let us know if you see his tongue and it looks too pale or too red. Nugget weighed 53 grams today and is in good body condition/weight for his age."
 

Raywood

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ill add i agree with tom this is not from mbd, ill also add besides bacterial ive also seen fungal cause nails to fall out as well.
Hey, I work in the medical field and am very familiar with yeast and bacterial infections. I am concerned about this as well. I don't see any flush or infection on the outside of his body. However, The only thing that I see on the little guy is pale grey-like skin after he sheds. Also, there seem to be one or two osteoderms on his front leg that seem to be lifted and growing this way.
 

mastershake

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if this is possibly aw it does not go away. it can go into a sort of suppression type mode but it will come back worse when it does. keep a very close eye for any yellow spots or blister like bumps anywhere on him if you see any chances are then its def austwickia.
 

dd33

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Was a biopsy done and did they look for Austwickia?
 

Raywood

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if this is possibly aw it does not go away. it can go into a sort of suppression type mode but it will come back worse when it does. keep a very close eye for any yellow spots or blister like bumps anywhere on him if you see any chances are then its def austwickia.
Ok, so question for you. Which anti biotic has worked for you when treating this and in what route did you administer the medication?
 

dd33

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I’d get @mastershake option on what to do. Your tortoise exhibited some tell tale symptoms of it. The biopsy would be the only way to know for sure but it would be highly invasive.
I hope the vet is familiar with the disease and chose not to look for it.
 
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