HELP SUNNY??? (sore on neck)

[Kelly71]

Hi All,
Please help me with Sunny? Does anyone know what this sore thing
is on his neck where it goes into his shell? Am sooooo worried about
the little guy? And you can tell in the pic also some of his coloured parts
look like they are peeling also?? Now I will only say this once, he is in a 20
gallon long tank with the top pretty much covered with plastic I put co co
dirt on the very bottom of his cage on top a sphagnum moss orchid bark
mix. He is still pretty small I have had him a year now and this is the first time
I have seen this kind of thing? His temp is over all 85+ more right under the
basking light, humidity is 65-80 . I use a high out put 5.0 repti sun. The only
thing I have changed lately is his hide? I did use a half log ceramic hide that
I would keep the heat light over and it was warm the log. He was getting a little high
for getting threw the door so I made my own plastic hide? I have to think he
did not like it or it did not hold the warmth as good as the ceramic one bc he
would be out of his hide under the heat lamp which he never did before? I use
a 50w heat light if I use more like a 75w it gets to hot for him and he paces around?
Help please? Ideas? I have find another ceramic half log hide for him a little bigger
then and the other and higher door? And it holds the heat also so he is staying in it
like the other one but it is too soon to tell if the plastic one I made did this too him
or did he get burned staying out under the heat lamp too much?? Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

I don't see a 'sore.' Do you mean the little bump on the right side of his head? I don't know what that is.

 

[Kelly71]

Hi Yvonne,
No it is the long light coloured line after the coloured ones? I am taking him
to the vet? From side to side? Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

Is it raw? I thought that looked like lighter-colored skin.

 

[Kelly71]

Hi Yvonne,
Yes I have no idea what that is? It is also like a bump and
rubs on his shell when he puts his neck in? I thought maybe
it could be a burn from being under the heat light more? I have
also put the co co nut oil on it to help maybe but, maybe it made
it worse? I wonder what the vet will say? Am worried sick? Thanks

 

[Yvonne G]

Sometimes they get a raw spot on the back of their head/neck when the try to climb the wall and suddenly slip down, not retracting their head in time to keep the shell from abrading the skin. It's no big deal, but it's in such a spot that it's very hard to heal because it keeps getting rubbed by the shell.

 

[Kelly71]

Hi Yvonne,
Well just got home from the vet and boy was I worried! He at first
didnt really know what it was he thought it might be some dead
skin that didnt fall off. He went to take a swab of it and the skin
did come off a bit with new kind of new skin under. He said keep
an eye on it and if I wanted I could put poly cream on it but, he did
say I should be putting Sunny way more outside in the sun that will
also help heal it. And I was not bathing him right to help get the dead
skin off even some on his legs. I should use like a water sprayer on
a tap? Like the kind they use when u get your hair cut and they wash
it? Just lightly of course but, to try and get they dead skin off in the
folds of his skin? They showed me there and you should have seen the
stuff come off and I think he liked it? lol He said I must be doing something
right when I brought Sunny a year ago he was 79 grams now he is 350 grams.
Thanks I did tell him I was using the co co oil and brought it to show him,
he was not to sure of it? He said just use it once and awhile because their
shells are a living thing and breath with putting something over the shell
the shell is not breathing as easily? Thanks

 

[Kristin Biles]

Sometimes they get a raw spot on the back of their head/neck when the try to climb the wall and suddenly slip down, not retracting their head in time to keep the shell from abrading the skin. It's no big deal, but it's in such a spot that it's very hard to heal because it keeps getting rubbed by the shell.

 

[Kristin Biles]

Hi Yvonne,
Do you know how to get the sores to stop or the tortoise to quit doing this. Mine has two really bad sore spots and they keep getting worse and Im pretty sure its from what you described might be happening.

Sometimes they get a raw spot on the back of their head/neck when the try to climb the wall and suddenly slip down, not retracting their head in time to keep the shell from abrading the skin. It's no big deal, but it's in such a spot that it's very hard to heal because it keeps getting rubbed by the shell.[

 

[teresaf]

The shell could be too sharp. If you can't file the sharp edges down a little to fix it you can try to cut a piece of duct tape to fold over that edge. Just don't let tape touch skin. It won't look pretty but it'll stop the sharp edge from rubbing long enough for the sores to heal.