Skin abnormalities
- Thread starter amberbedgood
- Start date
Is it old food stuck on? Can you gently pick it off? Otherwise, I'm inclined to say it might be Austwickia. @mastershake ??
amberbedgood
New Member
I don't think it's food. I thought that at first. It doesn't come off. And when I VERY gently probe it he doesn't pull his head away from me so I don't think it's causing pain.
amberbedgood
New Member
I don't think it's food. I thought that at first. It doesn't come off. And when I VERY gently probe it he doesn't pull his head away from me so I don't think it's causing pain.
amberbedgood
New Member
Yes his beak is cracked. Yes he is missing a toenail on each front foot. No pimples...
amberbedgood
New Member
Now I'm scared. What do you think it is?
It may be Austwickia chelonae. The facial issues, cracked beak and missing toenails point in that direction but you should wait for @mastershake to chime in on this post. He knows the most about this.
In the mean time you can read up on the disease in the sub forum here:
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/yellow-bumps-on-tortoises.146/
In the mean time you can read up on the disease in the sub forum here:
https://tortoiseforum.org/forums/yellow-bumps-on-tortoises.146/
its very possible this could be austwickia i did in fact see one case very similar where they did not have the bumps but more of a yellowish dry patch on the face. it did come back positive. the toenails missing are another indicator almost every case of aw they tend to loose one or more toenails most of the time on the back feet but it can be front also. a piece of that bump would have to come off and be sent to a lab who has experience specifically with aw as its very difficult to test for. they usually will eat, poop and move like normal but tend to be very slow to gain weight or not gain at all in some cases. aw has specific tells but not every one shows all of them in most cases this makes it very hard to look at certain ones and say yes 100% (which i can do in some cases) for now treat this as highly contagious to be safe and i recc doing a quarantine routine again to be safe.
to add if you would like to have a vet carefully take off a chunk of that bump (it does need to be a deep resection not just a skin scrape) i can get you or your vet info of the lab we work with who has prob the most exp in the country with this disease. just let me know. they are located in florida and we are as well here at the rescue shoot me a message if you have any questions. if you are close to us im happy to take a look in person and i may be able to get a better idea.
amberbedgood
New Member
He is my only tortoise so quarantine will be easy. Do you know survival rate with treatment? I just want to prepare myself as I am already very attached to the lille guy.
if it tests positive to be actually austwickia sadly there is no survival rate. nothing is effective in fully curing it. i do recc seeing someone to take a sample of that area to know for sure what it is. if its aw even putting him outside can jeopardize wildlife and spread it to other animals. lets hope its not but either way that area does not look good at all.
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Hi and welcome, I really hope your little guy can be helped.
amberbedgood
New Member
amberbedgood
New Member
Me too. This is all breaking my heart.
It would break mine too. The sooner you can get the skin tested the better so you know what you are dealing with.
If you can get him to mastershake that would be brilliant.
amberbedgood
New Member
Yes it will. If he is reasonably close I am gonna try to get him there.
Good luck, and let us know what happens.
amberbedgood
New Member
Thank you and I will
Jan A
Well-Known Member
We are good at hand-holding & empathy, so you are not alone. Someone's always here if you want to talk. A few of us are insomniacs &/or rascals. Keeping my fingers crossed this is not aw & sending you good vibes.
