Hi @TammyJ thank you for your advice; I’ll keep it in mind. If only I had known about the disease before I got him, I would re-thinking my decision.
However, as I stated before, I unfortunately rescued this tortoise from my friend, who passed away. A couple of weeks after he passed, we found several of his pets. Since no one had the experience of raising a tortoise, no one would take him. My friend’s family tried to sell him, but no one wanted to buy either. So the only option was for me to adopt it or to let him die. Since no one took care of him for a couple of weeks, I thought the missing nails were caused by neglect/improper housing. Previously, he was living with a lot of cats and was put in a small tub, so I thought it was an old defensive wound.
I only realised that it might be a virus once I already agreed to have him and he’s on the way. Again, if I had known before I agreed to adopt him, I might rethink my decision, as I don’t want to put my sulcata at risk. I just lost my friend, and I guess I don’t have the heart to let a part of him die as well.
I am putting him on a strict bio-quarantine, put him on a different floor, use separate equipment, tools and handling waste carefully. Seeing his old living conditions, I am almost certain it was an attack/defensive wound. But better be extra cautious at this point.
