Ideas for raw sores on feet (Hermann)

[Albie]

Now that @Yvonne G and @HermanniChris have helped identify our tortoise, I’m sure we’ll have lots more questions. Background - we live in Sweden, so it is cold much of the year. Anton has mostly lived indoors, roaming freely in the home (first my parent-in-laws, and now my husbands and mine). At my parent-in-laws, where he lived nearly 50 years, the home was mostly carpeted. My home, where he’s been about 6 years, is mostly hardwood and tile. In the summer (April-Sept), he is outdoors in an enclosure on dirt/grass.

Some years he hibernates a long time, and then he doesn’t spend too much time awake and indoors, but the past couple years, he’s only hibernated a short time. This year he was up by the first week of January. We notice his rear feet are getting very raw, presumably from the wood/tile floors, and we’re not sure if we should do anything about it. See photo of one foot. Any suggestions are welcome.

 

[wellington]

He needs his own proper enclosure. Never to be left to roam your house. It's too cold, too dangerous and as you can see, not proper for his feet.
Build an enclosure that is at least 4x8 feet and larger if you can. He needs proper temps, proper basking spot/temp and proper substrate of dirt, coconut coir or orchid bark or combo of two of them.

 

[Albie]

@wellington - other than the recent foot problem, he seems quite healthy and "happy" after 50 years living this way, so I'm curious why we'd need to change things? I've read on this forum that if a tortoise has gotten used to a larger space, they don't do well then being put into a smaller enclosure -- and we couldn't possibly build an indoor enclosure anywhere near the size of the 8 rooms he's used to wandering around in (we have a big home in the countryside). We have floor heating, he has several places he basks in the sun, he has multiple hiding places that are dark / cooler, he's put in water nearly daily (sometimes will walk in the open access shower with one of us) and we have no other pets and our children are old enough to not be a danger to him. There's always someone home, so he's regularly checked on. When he hibernates longer, it is just about 2 months in the fall and 2 in the spring that he's indoors. In the summer, he's outdoors most of the time (indoors for sleeping if it is too cold), and his enclosure is about 2 meters x 4 meters (6 feet x 12 feet).

 

[wellington]

Of course it's your choice. However, it's not the right way and it's not a good way and it's dangerous. It wouldn't be right for me to not say something. A designated room with the proper substrate, hides, heat, etc, would be much better and he would love it. Besides the floor, wood and tile is too slippery for him to maintain proper muscle and the proper way of walking.
As for the feet, I would keep San eye on them for now and get him on a surface that is not slippery until they heal. If they seem to get worse, then put some over the counter antibiotic cream on them and keep them clean until healed.

 

[Albie]

@wellington , Appreciate your suggestions, we are talking about what we can prepare for him. In the meantime, would you suggest bandaids over the red spots on his feet, with some Neosporin? We only have tile and wood floors, and it is only just above freezing outside, so will take a bit to find a non-slippery solution indoors.

 

[wellington]

I don't think I would put a bandage on. You could rub in some neosporin though.

 

[Pearly]

I almost feel like giving him some padding to cushion against further tissue trauma. I know they make dog/cat winter booties, maybe if you can find one small enough and line the inside with piece of soft felt and let him wear that for few days, rubbing neosporin daily after each bath... i don’t know, this is what I would be trying to do for mine