Tedthetortoise

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Jul 10, 2018
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Hi, I have a two year old Russian tortoise called Ted, as of the past two weeks he's been acting as little funny with regards to his eating habits, he usually chomps his food and almost completely clears his bowl every time, but lately he has not, and he's been eating rather slowly. Noticing this change I took a closer look, it appeared that he had tore one side of his mouth, I figured maybe it was due to him opening his mouth very wide when he yawns in the morning, or maybe he had injured himself somehow in his enclosure. I decided to see how it would heal, as other than eating slowly and not opening his mouth as wide as he used to, he was still seemingly fine, still roaming around, still eating, though more slowly and pooping and urinating normally, but a few days later he had developed what looked like a little lump of skin on that side, again i kept an eye on it and upped his soaks, but a couple of days after that I woke to find he had scratched it off, and it seemed a little pink and noticeably wider than the other side. I have booked an appointment for the vets tomorrow, though it's no longer pink, I'm still worried and don't want him to be in any discomfort, I'm also not sure how this could have happened, and I'm praying it's not mouth rot, I'm no tort expert but I keep his diet varied, his enclosure spot cleaned daily and thoroughly cleaned once a month, and soak him every 3 - 4 days, his temps and humidity regulated. I know it's a lot to take in but I'm looking for any sort of advice of anyone who has had a similar issue, I just want him to be happy and back to chomping his food! I'll insert pictures, and I hope to hear from someone soon, thank you


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Yvonne G

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That's not a lump of skin, it's an abscess. More than likely some food got into the sore and has caused an infection. If you can't do it, you'll need to take him to a vet to have it checked out and cleaned out. Once it's been lanced, then keep it soft with first aid ointment. . . don't allow it to scab over. With a scab, every time he opens his mouth he re-opens the wound. With the ointment keeping it soft, it heals nicely.
 

Tedthetortoise

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That's not a lump of skin, it's an abscess. More than likely some food got into the sore and has caused an infection. If you can't do it, you'll need to take him to a vet to have it checked out and cleaned out. Once it's been lanced, then keep it soft with first aid ointment. . . don't allow it to scab over. With a scab, every time he opens his mouth he re-opens the wound. With the ointment keeping it soft, it heals nicely.
Thank you so much for your reply! I knew that tortoises could get abscesses but I didn't even consider that! As I said I'm taking him the vets tomorrow, luckily they have a tortoise specialist there 3 days a week, so I'm hopeful he can sort it and alleviate any discomfort my little ted may be in. He's eaten more food today and is opening his mouth wider and chomping as he usually does so I'm hoping it's getting better, I tried to take a look inside but it's so diffucult and I didn't want to cause any stress as he may be stressed tomorrow at the vets, I'll let you know how he gets on, thanks again for the reply, I've browsed this forum for quite some time, even before I got Ted as I wanted to do as much research as possible, and I know you're a tort veteran so I'm very grateful for your input!
 

Tedthetortoise

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Joined
Jul 10, 2018
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Location (City and/or State)
UK
That's not a lump of skin, it's an abscess. More than likely some food got into the sore and has caused an infection. If you can't do it, you'll need to take him to a vet to have it checked out and cleaned out. Once it's been lanced, then keep it soft with first aid ointment. . . don't allow it to scab over. With a scab, every time he opens his mouth he re-opens the wound. With the ointment keeping it soft, it heals nicely.
Also, what do you think may have caused the abscess? Do you think poop eating has anything to do with it? I clean them out immediately as soon as I see them but when I'm at work for a few hours during the day, I'm unable to do so, and I know it's not uncommon for them to eat it, I'm not someone who is grossed out by that sort of thing, i understand its natural, but is it possible that could be the cause?
 

Tedthetortoise

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Jul 10, 2018
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I doubt it. More than likely it's a small sliver of food.
Hey, just got back from the vets, the tortoise specialist told me it was possibly due to injury or shed, but couldn't pin point a cause, he did remove the protruding skin and told me to keep it as clean as I could, and prescribed 0.1ml of an anti-inflammatory liquid which contained steroids per day to be administered via a syringe orally (extremely difficult!) And to come back in a week to have a check up! Gave him a check up whilst there and said everything looks great aside from the corners of his mouth, he had a thorough check inside his mouth, I inquired about abscesses and he said it looked clear, so hopefully this sorts it out and it heals quickly! Thank you so much for your help and advice, I'll post another update next week for anyone going through a similar issue
 

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