Pacing on cement—Problem for feet?

[Jenna524]

We have a large yard full of grass and weeds and other plants for our Sulcata, Toki, to graze in. We also have a large gated enclosure in the back corner for him which contains his heated house. We open the gate for him to enjoy the whole yard everyday.

Recently we put in an extended cement patio. For some reason, even with all this yard, Toki has chosen the cement patio as one of his favorite spots to pace back and forth. He still roams the rest of the yard as well, but will spend chunks of time pacing on the cement throughout the day. After reading other posts, I’ve learned that this could lead to problems on the feet.

I checked the bottoms of his feet today after his soak, and I wondered if he had some wear on the bottom.

Is this a problem enough that I should block the patio? Is there some kind of pad or something I could put there to fix the problem without blocking the area?

 

[Yvonne G]

It's already a problem. He's worn his toenails completely off on that one foot and they're down to the quick on the other foot. Animals are able to 'forget' about pain and just keep going, but I would think it might be an area to allow a germ in and an infection. The pink area on the second to last picture is like a skinned knee on a human. Won't be too much longer and it will be bleeding.

 

[Jenna524]

It's already a problem. He's worn his toenails completely off on that one foot and they're down to the quick on the other foot. Animals are able to 'forget' about pain and just keep going, but I would think it might be an area to allow a germ in and an infection. The pink area on the second to last picture is like a skinned knee on a human. Won't be too much longer and it will be bleeding.

Poor Toki. We’ll definitely do something to fix the problem with the cement. In the meantime, how should I treat his feet so they can heal properly? Will the nails grow back?

 

[Yvonne G]

It will be ok once he's off the cement. The nails will grow.

 

[Tom]

I agree with Yvonne. Some tortoises have tougher feet, or lower body weight than sulcatas, and concrete doesn't affect them as much, but sulcatas tend to have issues with it, and the large the tortoise, the worse it is.

Anything you put down, like rubber horse stall mats, will over heat in the sun, and possibly burn the feet in summer. I think it best to block off the area with a sturdy fence that the tortoise can't see through.

 

[Jenna524]

It will be ok once he's off the cement. The nails will grow.

Thank you for the reassurance. We will be right on this.

 

[Jenna524]

I agree with Yvonne. Some tortoises have tougher feet, or lower body weight than sulcatas, and concrete doesn't affect them as much, but sulcatas tend to have issues with it, and the large the tortoise, the worse it is.

Anything you put down, like rubber horse stall mats, will over heat in the sun, and possibly burn the feet in summer. I think it best to block off the area with a sturdy fence that the tortoise can't see through.

Thank you for the info. I hadn't thought about the sun and mats.

Last night we temporarily barricaded most of the cement patio (especially his pacing area), and we have some ideas for a more permanent fence to block all of the cement. Looks like we have a Saturday project!

 

[Tom]

Thank you for the info. I hadn't thought about the sun and mats.

Last night we temporarily barricaded most of the cement patio (especially his pacing area), and we have some ideas for a more permanent fence to block all of the cement. Looks like we have a Saturday project!

I'm glad you caught it when you did. Your tortoise was very close to having bloody feet. Probably another week or two of this would have done it. Good catch on your part!

 

[Jenna524]

Just a follow up. We have managed to build a fence around the entire yard to block off all of the cement. I’ve been soaking and monitoring Toki’s feet, and while the nails do seem worn down still, I can see that he is healing, and not making new sores on his feet. Hopefully this is a good sign to a full recovery, and no more new feet scrapes. Thanks for all the helps everyone!