Help (skin coming off? sore foot?)

PaigeQ

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my temps are at 90 and the ambient temp is 80. I have a 10.0 uvb light in the enclosure. I use coco coir substrate. I use a humidifier which makes the humidity about 60% ( I’m in the process of bringing the humidity up just having a hard time keeping the temps high with high humidity ) I have spahgum moss in the cage. I soak every other day. I feed spring mix, dandelion , chard , endive.

I recently noticed that my tortoises tail is falling off. He’s been acting weird the last couple of days. Eating very little. Sleeping a lot. He has been drinking lots of water during his soaks and has been pooping and peeing. I also noticed that his foot is missing skin on the bottom or scales? This is my first tortoise and I got him in October. He was recently at the vet and had blood work done and it all came back ok. He was on medication for what the vet said was a possible upper respiratory. I cleaned his tail with saline solution and put neospirn on it. I don’t know what happened to cause this or why he has been sleeping a lot and eating little. I’m uploaded pictures of him and his tank

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PaigeQ

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He’s eating a bit right now. Just seems to fall asleep in his food after one bite.
 

Yvonne G

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It sounds to me as if the vet gave the baby a vitamin a,d,e injection. Too much vitamin a causes the skin to slough off. Soak him in warm water daily for about 30 minutes, keeping a close watch to make sure he doesn't tip over in the water. You can put the soaking bowl back into the enclosure so it stays warm. When you're about ready to get him out, take a soft bristle brush to that stuck on poop around the cloaca (When poop gets stuck on it burns the skin, and that might be the problem). Then dry him well and dab on some Neosporin. You can TRY to put a little band aid on the foot to keep it clean, but I think that's probably a lost cause. Just do your best to keep it clean and keep adding Neosporin until it looks like its healing.
 

Kasia

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It sounds to me as if the vet gave the baby a vitamin a,d,e injection. Too much vitamin a causes the skin to slough off. Soak him in warm water daily for about 30 minutes, keeping a close watch to make sure he doesn't tip over in the water. You can put the soaking bowl back into the enclosure so it stays warm. When you're about ready to get him out, take a soft bristle brush to that stuck on poop around the cloaca (When poop gets stuck on it burns the skin, and that might be the problem). Then dry him well and dab on some Neosporin. You can TRY to put a little band aid on the foot to keep it clean, but I think that's probably a lost cause. Just do your best to keep it clean and keep adding Neosporin until it looks like its healing.
I double that and add that you can set up for him a hospital tank - smal enclosure with light and heat but no substrat just clean paper towels, try to keep both wounds as clean as possible.
 

PaigeQ

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hi, I recently posted about my baby sulcata who recently started losing skin on his back foot and his tail. He was at the vet a week or two before this happened. The vet took blood work which came back fine and gave him a vitamin A and calcium injection. I’ve been soaking him daily and cleaning his foot and where his tail fell off with saline solutions and then putting neosporin on it. He wont eat and he’s being lethargic. I’m so scared his gonna die. I completely regret taking him to the vet. He was completely active and eating before he went. The reason I took him was cause there was either air or fluid built up in his neck which went away a few days after the vet but she didint do anything for it. She said because he’s so small there’s no way they can tell what’s wrong. I don’t know what to do at this point. I know I was told to soak him and clean it but he still won’t eat.
 

PaigeQ

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Also the vet gave me ciprofloxacin hydrochloride ophthalmic soilion to put in his nose twice daily for 10 days in case he has a upper respiratory infection.
 

mark1

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find a vet with reptile experience , at the very least an exotic animal vet , one that does birds ...... the experience you describe comes across as a very misinformed vet , I would question the treatment they gave your tortoise .....vitamin a can be toxic if not administered properly , enrofloxacin can also be toxic , and putting in their nostrils can be painful , if it gets in their eyes it can be damaging ... I've not seen the size of the animal to be a hindrance in a diagnosis or it's treatment ....... soak him a lot , maybe chlorhexidine where the skin has fallen off , keep him warm , make sure he can hide himself , hopefully he recovers enough to see another vet , less intervention is usually more ...........
 

PaigeQ

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The vet I took him to was a reptile vet /: the only other one near me has horrible reviews.
 

Yvonne G

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I'm so sorry this happened, Paige. Can we see pictures of what the tail and foot look like now? Be sure to soak the baby in warm water daily for at least a half hour, and try to keep the raw areas clean, with Neosporin on them to aid healing.
 

mark1

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She said because he’s so small there’s no way they can tell what’s wrong.......................the vet took blood work which came back fine and gave him a vitamin A and calcium injection. ....................Also the vet gave me ciprofloxacin hydrochloride ophthalmic solution to put in his nose twice daily for 10 days in case he has a upper respiratory infection.

I can only say if I went to a vet that was experienced with turtles and tortoises and received the above services , i'd find another ....... not sure how small the tortoise is , but reptiles come pretty small 10-20grams ......... if the bloodwork was fine , which i'd question why it was done , what was the reason for the vitamin A injection , the calcium injection ? does he have signs of mbd or vitamin a deficiency ? as far as putting Cipro in his nose , why not just use baytril , it is a much better drug with exactly the same contraindications ? and why not inject it to properly dose it ? my difference of experiences with this vet seems to be , at least from this limited information , on just about everything she did ........... I've had a few reptile vets , some for real and some just willing .....
 
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