Box turtle biting her arm ?

[pryncesssc]

So i noticed on 2 or 3 separate ocasions that my hatchling is biting her own arm and today i noticed it was a little pink. I took her out , rinsed her off in warm water and put a little neosporin then left her in the "hospital tank" for an hour while i changed out all of her substrate and washed the whole cage.

I dont know if it is a coincidence but it started around the same time that i have been feeding her silk worms, could the silk be getting on her arm and irritating it ?

 

[turtlemann2]

maybe she is confusing her leg for a worm? i doubt the worms are silking her up

 

[nicoleandrocky]

do you use an infared light ?

 

[pryncesssc]

no i have a basking light and a 5.0 UVB light

 

[ascott]

Maybe she thinks she is tastio

 

[pryncesssc]

lol something just occurred to me after observing the turtle for many hours. She might have outgrown her cage because she seems "bored" she is just pacing around and doing laps .. maybe this is why she is biting herself ?? ANY THOUGHTS WOULD BE APPRECIATED !!

 

[dmmj]

It could be boredom but I doubt it,most tortoises don't self mutilate out of boredom. My best guess is maybe something is sticking to her leg or it might feel like something is and she is trying to remove it. It could also be a sore of some type, and it is irritating him and he is trying to remove it, mind you these are only guesses.

 

[terryo]

Do you have a place for her to dig in and hide. How is the humidity? She could be too dry. Is it too bright with the basking light? Low light, warm humidity............

 

[pryncesssc]

the humidity is good , it stays around 85% during the day and usually a little higher at night and it is warm in the cage. she is on cypress mulch that she can fully dig under and be covered and she has a coconut hide that she can go in also. As of right now she is on papertowels because the vet gave me an antibiotic ointment and i dont want the substrate to get stuck all over her. I have had her for about 2 months and this just started so i dont really know what to do. I hope the ointment works and she is better soon ! i really dont want her to get an infection !!

 

[pryncesssc]

well her arm is not improving so she will be going to the vet on wednesday ! Everyone say a prayer that it is nothing major PLEASE !! Im very nervous

 

[jojodesca]

have you posted a pic of it yet?.....

 

[nicoleandrocky]

There can be something stuck on the inside of her beak and she is trying to get it out.

 

[GeoTerraTestudo]

Sometimes turtles bite their own forearms because there is food stuck on there, and while trying to get the food, they accidentally bite themselves.

Also, I wonder if maybe botflies have laid eggs just under the skin on her arm, or maybe a tick has attached itself between the scales, and making her itch. That's not really the usual place for these parasites; they usually go for the much softer skin about the neck, at the base of the limbs, or under the shell. However, it is possible that this is what is irritating her.

Finally, has she been bitten by another animal? Is she in contact with other turtles, or perhaps other types of animals? If so, she could be biting at a wound that was started by someone else.

 

[pryncesssc]

I havent taken a pic because she just wiggles around and i can barely get the medicine on her.. As for food being stuck, i tried to wash her off and i have checked the area and dont see anything. She is not in contact with anything else she just lives along in her cage. As for botflies, do u know what area they live in ? i have seen flies in her cage from the lettuce that i have in there, but they are very small fruit flies..

 

[dmmj]

You know I had not even thought of botflies since it was the arm that was bothering it.

 

[turtlemann2]

i doubt it could have been a botfly, its indoors, there is 10 feet of snow outside in the chicago area and the little fruit flys you see, we all have had them at one point or another, it must be somthing else

 

[pryncesssc]

well her arm has a scab so thats a good sign that it is healing i think. She is going to the vet anyways tomorrow afternoon just to be sure and she needs a checkup anyways .. i hope it goes ok !

 

[pryncesssc]

Ok so the vet said that she is perfectly healthy . She has no parasites and her development is great ! He said not to worry about the arm that something may have just irritated it , but it is healing great ! She was also featured as patient of the week on their Facebook page if you "like" Vernon hills animal hospital on Facebook you can see the great pic the vet took if her .. what a great relief. It's nice to hear a professional tell you that your doing a good job and that you have obviously done your homework ! It was worth the hour drive to see him because I know that he is great with reptiles and I see him at the Herp society meetings so he obviously cares !!

 

[turtlemann2]

too cool! and imglad she has been givin a clean bill of health

 

[pryncesssc]

too cool! and imglad she has been givin a clean bill of health

Thanks ! Me too hope ur eggs are doing good !